Ambrosiac
by Kessie-Louise
Summary: [AU] Thirteen years ago, Doctor Tenma created the Kokoro Theory after the death of his son Toby, and soon sealed it away in a young girl named Uran. Now, Professor O'Shay sets to achieve the ultimate goal of the Kokoro Theory; but not even he can predict what will happen when dreams become reality...
1. Toby: A New Era

At the start of a new century, we almost always usher in a new era of development and discovery. In the 1900s, we adopted the idea of a horseless carriage we chose to deem forever as the car, and we soon became instilled with more advanced automations- these ideas slowly became known as the first robotic experiments, development, and plans. The 2000s brought new ideas within its first decade, in this era technology advance so quickly we weren't sure what to do with it. Robotics in particular hit a high as quick as the technology itself could advance- the exploration of an Artificial Intelligence became commonplace in robot development, but scientists wanted more.

Who would be the one to create a robot so human-like that there was almost no distinction between the two species?

. . .

The sunlight streamed into Toby's room and into his still closed eyes as if it was trying to tell him how great his day was going to be today.

The thirteen year old boy groaned as he woke- he had rather hoped to sleep in today to be quite honest. Today was going to be the day that he would sleep in a bit, then go to play some virtual hockey on his Microtendony system, watch a little TV, and finally he was going to have lunch with his dad after he finished his demonstration for the- wait… The demonstration!

In a heartbeat, Toby's eyes snapped open and he leaped out of his bed. The kid ran to the bathroom and without stopping brushed his teeth, combed his hair back, put on a clean pair of pants, then rushed back out of the bathroom to the kitchen.

 _Please let him still be drinking coffee…_

Toby clung to the doorframe that led into the kitchen and almost slid from his own velocity. With an exhausted huff, Toby looked around the kitchen and gave a sigh of relief when he saw his father sitting at the table.

"Would you like more coffee Doctor Tenma?" inquired a hovering housebot designed to look like a thin refrigerator although it was programmed to act as a live-in cook.

"No thanks." Toby's father replied with a hand wave.

"Dad!" Toby exclaimed, still at the door. "You haven't left yet!"

Doctor Tenma looked up and saw his son at the door and gave a rather slow blink.

"Toby…" the doctor said before taking another sip of coffee, "Why are you up so early? Saturday is the day you usually sleep in until twelve in the afternoon."

"I wanted to go with you." Toby exclaimed with a wide smile as he went over to his father. "I want to see the look on the Ambassador's face when you show him your new robot!"

Doctor Tenma gave his son another rather slow blink as he took second sip from his coffee mug.

"First of all, the Ambassador is a female." Tenma told his child. "Second, I already told you that you can not come to the demonstration. The robot in question is armed with an advanced weapon system that could harm everyone present should it go haywire."

"But it won't." Toby goaded. "You designed it after all. All the robots you designed have an expectancy rate of twenty years- maybe even more if they keep working!"

"Toby, just because the robots I've designed have yet to break down, it doesn't mean that they are failsafe. Let alone this new one."

"Please Dad, just this once?" Toby begged with wide eyes and his bottom lip whimpering. His father did not back down.

"I said no Toby, and that's final. Do you understand?"

The boy was as stubborn as he was crestfallen, and nodded his head in disappointment.

"Yessir." Toby mumbled.

"Master Tobias," the cook bot spoke up, "Your breakfast is ready."

Without a word, Tenma stood up and started to make his way out the door to work. Every step of the way, Toby watched him with no emotion on his face.

"I'm not hungry." Toby muttered.

"Would you like me to save it for you?" the robot asked. The robot looked around and noticed that Toby was no longer in the room. "Is that a yes, sir?"


	2. Toby: Don't Blink

Doctor Tenma wasted no time walking to the laboratory where the demonstration was going to take place.

'Build the strongest robot you can' he was told, 'Let it have as many advanced weapons as possible and make it unable to disobey whatever command it is given.'

Not to be fooled though, Tenma had much respect for the Ambassador- the youngest Ambassador instated to the position for the first time in nearly fifty years, and she was the first female to ever take up the position. With that being said, the situation at hand was initially debunked- due to stigmas, grudges, and failed compromises, the Ambassador had approached the Ministry of Science with the project and they had no choice but to go through with it.

Doctor Tenma entered the laboratory and was greeted with the Ambassador herself in only a few moments.

"Good morning Doctor Tenma." She said to him in a kind, yet rather stern, tone. "Thank you for arranging this meeting and completing the project."

"Likewise Ambassador." The doctor replied with a soft smile as he gave her a respective bow. "I've heard from the rumor mill that you're expecting?"

"This is hardly the place for such conversations doctor." The Ambassador told him with a stern look. But the corners of her lips slowly curled into a smile. "Although the rumors happen to be true."

"Congratulations." Doctor Tenma nodded.

"Are you finished with your small talk yet?" an annoyed scientist asked that was over by the control panel. "Can we start the demonstration now or are we going to start talking about the weather too?"

The Ambassador and Doctor Tenma gave each other a look, then turned back to the scientists.

"We are ready to begin the demonstration." Doctor Tenma affirmed.

Meanwhile, Toby inconspicuously made his way to the Ministry of Science building. It wouldn't have been the first time he tried to sneak into one of the most so called 'highest security' buildings in Metro City. Nor was it the first time his father had denied him to view the unveiling of a new robot and Toby found a way to see it any way.

Knowing just where to go, Toby snuck around to the back of the building and cracked the code of a back door. From what he had overheard from his father, the demonstration was going to take place in a laboratory with two sections connecting to it, one for the scientists to observe and the other for the robot itself to be testing on through various simulations. Through pure memorization of the Ministry of Science's layout, Toby knew that there was an air vent duct that had a panel piece that could look directly into the observation section of that particular laboratory.

It was almost too easy!

. . .

"We have detected an intruder in the air duct system sir." One of the scientists at the console reported.

"That's strange…" Doctor Tenma said under his breath as he looked on the console. "Who would get pass the security protocols to start navigating in the air vents? They could have just walked right in after all the leg work it would have taken."

"What do you want us to do about it?" the scientist then asked. Tenma thought about it for a moment and turned to look at the Ambassador.

"As far as I'm concerned the demonstration is over." She told him with a raise of her left shoulder.

"Let's put the droid under one more challenge." Tenma told her. "A real challenge, not a simulated one."

"As you wish." The Ambassador agreed. With a confident smirking smile, Tenma took over the intercom system that could be heard in the demonstration room that the droid was held in.

"Take out the intruder." Tenma ordered to the robot.

"Objective accepted." The droid confirmed.

Inside the air vent, Toby's eyes grew wide as the droid mindlessly aimed a canon at him. In a single blast, the droid hit the air vent with precise accuracy, making the vent loosen off the ceiling. With a surprised yelp, Toby fell out of the busted air vent and tumbled onto the cold floor with a sickening crack. All the scientists on the other side of the barrier let out a surprised gasp in shock.

"Toby!" Doctor Tenma cried when he recognized his child. The boy did not respond as the droid started to get closer to the unconscious child. Desperately, Tenma turned to one of the scientists at the control panel. "Shut that thing off before it fires at Toby!"

"We can't." the scientist told him. "We haven't had control of the droid since you gave it the order."

Tenma suddenly felt so sick that he nearly lost his lunch. Moving without thinking, the Doctor Tenma shoved past the scientist to get to the intercom.

"Toby!" Tenma shouted, "Toby wake up! You need to get out of there Toby, wake up!"

The boy did not stir as the droid started to prepare its weapon system to fire a fatal blow. Helpless, everyone present could only stare the droid followed through with its instructions.

"Objective completed." The droid uttered before shutting off. Slowly, the Ambassador turned to look at Doctor Tenma, who in turn was frozen in place with wide eyes that almost couldn't blink.

Gone.

Toby was… gone… In just a blink Toby was… his son was dead…

"Are… are you going to be alright?" the Ambassador asked Tenma softly as she put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I hate to say it but… the droid was only following orders Tenma."

"It wouldn't have if it were given a consciousness…" Tenma muttered. The Ambassador gave him an odd side glance. "Then it would have known… then it wouldn't have…!"

"Tenma this was my mistake," the Ambassador then told him, "I shouldn't have backed down when the Board kept pushing the decision."

"No…" Tenma softly said, started to turn to her. "It was my mistake for creating a robot that powerful without the ability to think enough for itself so it wouldn't… harm a human. Next time…"

"Next time…?" the Ambassador cautiously repeated. "Doctor in all due respect, at the cost of your own child, there will never be another project like this again."

Tenma turned away from the Ambassador and looked back at the spot where Toby's ashes now lay. She was right, there was never going to be another robot allowed to be that powerful ever again. Or… a robot that couldn't think for itself, at least…


	3. Active: The Kokoro Theory

**Thirteen Years Later;**

It's not that he hated his job as the head of the Ministry of Science, but being the field guide for a bunch of unresponsive teenagers sure didn't make it easy. Professor O'Shay nervously wiped sweat from his brow as he guided the class around the facility- not that they were paying too much attention. If most of them weren't on their phones, the others were causing trouble for the rest of their classmates.

"Now," the poor professor then said to the class, "Any questions?"

To his surprise, one of the students did raise their hand.

"Yes?" O'Shay said, pointing to the student, "What would you like to ask?"

The student in question was a boy with red hair and a bigger frame around. "Yeah, so," the student then went on to say, "This place is cool and all, but, like, when are you going to tell us about the Kokoro Theory?"

Professor O'Shay almost let his jaw drop in surprise. The word 'Kokoro' got the attention of the other students, unfortunately, and they were now all agreeing with the first student.

"Is it true that the Kokoro Theory was the sentience of humans in all robots?" another student piped up.

"Did Doctor Tenma really create the theory after he killed his son?" inquired another.

"He burned down his mansion after too, right? To kill the theory like he killed his son."

"No, that's not what happened! That mad doc created a robot just like his son, gave him Kokoro but was so freaking scared that he trashed the bot and killed himself and burned the theory at the family mansion. Isn't that right Professor?"

For a moment, Professor O'Shay could only stare at the entire class of thirty students started to slowly revolt from his authority just by talking about a theory the poor professor hoped he would never hear from again. It just a few moments, the professor decided he had had enough.

"SHUT UP!" he barked at the student body. Immediately, the teens hushed in a mutual fear of a man who looked like he could never be too angry. Noticing that he had their attention for the first time since the tour began, O'Shay cleared his throat and regained his composure- not that it helped much, considering the subject matter.

"Now," Professor O'Shay began, "I don't know who told you about the Kokoro Theory, considering roughly over half of you weren't even conceived at the time, but it is a subject that we do not talk about around here anymore. It's a theory that could change the world if given to the wrong hands. Yes, it is true that the late Doctor William Tenma died with the theory. I can not tell you what his intentions were at the time because what you children seem to fail to understand is that Doctor Tenma was a broken man in his last year of life. Doctor Tenma's son Tobias was no older than any of you when his curiosity and stubbornness got the better of him, and a robot designed for the militia with the only instinct to obey cut him down before anyone could do anything about it. After that day Doctor Tenma refused to show up at the Ministry, the poor man couldn't find relief at the end of a beer bottle or from the various depression medications he forced himself to take, and his development on what we now call the Kokoro Theory was deemed as brilliant as it was dangerous.

"Do you kids see it now? Kokoro is a lovely dream, but a robot with the will to choose whether it can obey or disobey? It would be too much. We could never accept a being like that into our society- even if the robot in question had the ability to protect the human race. It _can not_ happen. _Ever_. Do you understand?"

The students were silent, but a small hand raised and Professor O'Shay rubbed his temple as he started to feel a heavy migraine coming on when he saw it.

"Yes?" the professor addressed. "What would you like to say?"

In a moment of confusion, the students moved out of the way to rat out the one who had their hand raised. It was a female student that was the smallest of them all, but there was no doubt that she was as old as the rest; her dark brown (almost black) hair was cut short but styled so it curled upward at the middle of her head, her big brown eyes were as dull as fresh mud as she gave him a look of cynicism and doubt, and her pink, sleeveless tunic dress lay on her body like an oversized t-shirt that she had paired with dull red leggings and a large ruby pendant.

"What is your name young lady?" Professor O'Shay asked as she slowly started to put her hand down once all attention was on her.

"Uran." She told him, her voice sounding as emotionless as her rather pretty-looking face. "Sarann Uran. My mother was previously known as Ambassador Carrietta Zoran"

Suddenly, like a light switching on, Professor O'Shay had an understanding of the class's curiosity. "Of course you would know..." he muttered as he shook his head.

"Do you believe it?" Uran then asked. O'Shay looked up at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked in return.

"Do you believe that Kokoro is nothing but a dream?"

For a moment, the professor only stared at her. The students, too, were so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop from three floors down.

"I..." O'Shay started to say, "I don't know."

. . .

Public transits sucked.

They sucked even more when you had to share them with thirty other kids that wanted nothing to do with each other.

Uran had situated herself at the back of the school bus, although it didn't stop anyone from racking on her nerves, at least she had most of the seat to herself and a view of the world outside as it buzzed past them. The Kokoro Theory was on her mind- maybe in a way that could have been seen as unhealthy to some, but it like a song you couldn't get out of your head and a part of her _felt_ like it needed to be thought about.

 _'His development on what we now call the Kokoro Theory was deemed as brilliant as it was dangerous.'_

 _'But a robot with the will to choose whether it can obey or disobey? It would be too much. We could never accept a being like that into our society...'_

Uran dug around in her backpack to find her music player and put in the earbuds so she could listen to something that could potentially clear her brain for a moment or two. But there was one thought, one idea that didn't seem like the others, and it was almost as clear to her as the sunlight;

"He lied."


	4. Active: Pieces of the Puzzle

How could one person's words haunt you like a horror film?

 _"Do you believe it?"_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"Do you believe that Kokoro is nothing but a dream?"_

And to believe, he almost had the compulsion to say 'no'. The class tour of the Ministry of Science was no place to tell anyone about what he had secretly started to do three years ago- let alone finally revealing it to a bunch of thirteen year olds. There was no way that young Uran knew what he had been trying to repair in his free time; if it wasn't for her connection to someone that was present at the time, O'Shay was almost entirely sure that Uran wouldn't even be thinking about the Kokoro Theory. At least Carrietta had been stronger at handling the situation than what most gave credit for.

Similar to how Tenma fell into a whirlwind of despair and grief, the former Ambassador slowly started to lose bits of her own sanity. Unlike Tenma, who had no medical reason to _be_ sane, Carrietta was able to keep enough strings of her psyche in place to give birth to her daughter. How effective her strategy was is debatable; the young child (although primarily healthy, if not premature) was born with a rare case of hyperparathyroidism and from what he heard, the newborn child was barely going to survive her first two months.

 _Nothing but a dream…_

Professor O'Shay moved some papers from his desk to another spot, then started to get ready to go home for the night. Something about young Uran struck a chord in him- something that made his mind switch to autopilot as his body carried him over to a small safe at the corner of his office. The professor spun the dial for the right combination, let the small door swing open, and he took out a manila envelope with a red inked stamped marker on it that read; PRIVATE DOCUMENTS. O'Shay held the envelope in his hands and stared at it for a rather long time.

 _There was no way she had actually known… Was it all just a coincidence? Sure didn't feel like it…_

Without a second thought, Professor O'Shay tucked the envelope in his business suitcase and finally left the Ministry of Science for the day.

That night, O'Shay sat in his bed and tried to force himself to not look through the manila envelope that he placed on his bedside stand. A few weeks ago he told himself that he was never going to look through the contents of that envelope again, and yet…

"Professor O'Shay?" a voice came from his door. "Are you still awake? You should be sleeping."

Shocked for a moment, O'Shay recognized the voice. It was the voice of his housebot; she had been a rather expensive model, mostly due in part to her more human-like appearance (although it truthfully only meant that she had a distinguished head part) and mostly due in part to her multiple functions as a housebot.

"You must go to bed now if you wish to be fully rested in the morning!" the housebot informed him, nagging in a way that faintly reminded him of his own mother's nagging. Now remembering all the times his mother used to correct him for reading in the dark, O'Shay let out a light chuckle as he turned off his light.

"I'm going to sleep now," he shouted happily to the housebot, "Go recharge your batteries while I recharge mine!"

O'Shay heard the housebot give a light chuckle of her own (a forced one, unfortunately) and she replied, "Very good joke Professor, good night."

The Professor grinned with good thoughts as he snuggled himself under his blankets and fell into a blissful sleep.

. . .

Laboratory lights hummed brilliantly as they carefully lit up the workspace Professor O'Shay needed to work on his robotic 'puzzle'. Every now and again the professor would go review the papers that were once inside the manila envelope to make sure he was doing everything as written in the notes. So many of the notes were hard to read -some notes O'Shay had tried to rewrite himself, if he could- and from the source that they came from it was hardly much of a surprise. If people were to find out what he was doing, would they consider him crazy too?

"Let's see if we can get you going again." Professor O'Shay mumbled under his breath as he started to work on the chest cavity of the robotic frame. He didn't _have_ to talk to the frame, but in some ways it made the time go by faster.

"You have such a revolutionary design- astronomical even." The professor then went on the ramble, "Why would he try to burn it all like it never happened…?"

 _Not all the pieces are here Professor, how do you plan on finishing the puzzle?_

"I'll find a way."

Several more minutes of fiddling with the control panel, and Professor O'Shay found that he could do no more to the frame if he had tried. Dissatisfied, the professor went to a manual switch that was connected to many different wires that went into the robotic frame.

"Alright now," O'Shay said to the frame, "Let's see if that gets you to wake up."

Crossing his fingers with one hand, Professor O'Shay threw the switch with the other and watched as the electrical pulses in the wires flowed into the frame like a coursing river after a heavy rainstorm. O'Shay watched with a great deal of impatience as the electric current filled inside the frame but never seemed to come back out. Slowly, Professor O'Shay increased the voltage and more electricity poured inside the frame.

Then, for a brief moment, the frame started to move its fingers. Ecstatic, Professor O'Shay forgot all safety protocols he could have had and rushed to the frame to get a better look; but when he was mere inches away, the examination table that the frame was on started to smoke and fizz. Helpless, Professor O'Shay stood where he was as the electric wires fell from the ceiling they were connected to and prayed that he wouldn't get zapped by one as the power cells in the room slowly lost its charge.

"Still as dead as a doornail." Professor O'Shay mumbled grimly as he rubbed the corner of his eyebrow. So sure that the activation was going to work this time, O'Shay walked back over to the notes and looked them over again for the umpteenth time.

 _Do you believe that Kokoro is nothing but a dream?_

"What am I _missing_?!" Professor O'Shay wondered out loud as he balled his hand into a fist. The better question, he dimly figured, was how did he think he could pull this project off as easily as Tenma made it seem?

 _Not all the pieces are here…_

What was he overlooking?

 _Uran._

The name hit Professor O'Shay like a hailstone smacking the back of his head. But there was no way that she could be involved in all this. What connection could that little girl, of all people, have to the late William Tenma?

 _Hyperparathyroidism._

There was no way.

 _She shouldn't be alive right now. He saved her._

No way.

 _Certain medical records are public domain nowadays…_

Making a sound almost inhuman, Professor O'Shay dashed out the experimental laboratory with the plan of telling his secretary to cancel any meetings he had for the rest of the day.

The pieces of the puzzle were finally starting to fit together.


	5. Active: Bored Cybernetic Freak

Uran dully looked through the digital tablet that contained the textbook her class was supposed to be reading. The stylus pen that was supposed to be used to scroll through the tablet's contents lay next to it on her desk. The girl had a weird obsession with using her finger in place of the stylus because she seemed to get a small buzz from where the holographic bit of the tablet touched her finger. On boring days like this she would scroll through whatever book they were reading on the tablets and wonder if anyone else could feel their finger buzz when they didn't use the stylus.

"Miss Uran, are you paying attention?" the teacher inquired. The teacher was a robot, and he was designed to look like a fat, unsharpened pencil with noodle legs and arms. He was amusing to watch, no doubt, but it didn't make the day any more exciting when all the other teachers looked essentially the same.

"Miss Uran!" the teacher said again, this time slamming his metallic hand onto the artificial wood desk. Of course Uran jumped out of her seat from surprise, and of course her classmates snickered at her as a result. "Are you paying attention?"

"The answer you want is yes, but the answer I'm going to give you is no." Uran told the teacher with a straight face. Several of her classmates stared at her in surprise, a few others snickered or gave an expression of shock. Talking to a human teacher like that was one thing, but talking to a robotic teacher who could show no empathy? You were better off not coming to school the next day.

"Thank you for your honesty Miss Uran." The teacher then said, much to the surprise of everyone. Even Uran raised an eyebrow. There was more to this, there had to be more- there was no way that she was going to just get away with…

"Fortunately for you Miss Uran, I have been asked to send you to the office. I'll write a note to add speaking without respect to the list of grievances they wish to see you for."

Yep, that sounded just about right.

. . .

The path to the office and to the principal's office was no stranger to her and she took her sweet time walking there, just to be smart. Most kids had fears about why they were being sent to the principal's office; Uran was actually quite amused and the thought made her more curious than it seemed to worry her. The past few weeks had been rather uneventful for her, really; she had come to class on time, she actually did pretty well on a test everyone crammed for, and she held her tongue. Well… she _tried_ to hold her tongue, but it was still better grounded than on other days.

As she got closer to the principal's office, Uran could pick up someone talking through the door. The first voice she easily recognized as her principal's, but the other was… familiar?

"How long will she be out?" her principal asked, almost sounding rather concerned.

"Not long at all." The hauntingly familiar voice replied kindly, almost sounding as if the speaker was smiling. "Next Monday at the latest."

"And this… 'checkup', will she be… safe…?"

"Of course! All I plan on doing is investigating her cybernetic skeletal implants for a certain strand of data through a traditional X-ray scan, and move from there. If she does not show signs of what I need, then she could be back in school the next day."

"And if she does?"

Uran inched closer to the office door as the other end suddenly came quiet. They were talking about her no doubt… but why? What did anything in her body have to do with a 'certain strand of data' that the somehow familiar voice wanted?

Suddenly, the door to the principal's office started to open and Uran -who had been practically leaning on it by now to hear the conversation- fell on her face with a disgraceful thud.

"Good afternoon Sarann Uran." The principal said to her as he gave her a rather blank look as she lay on the floor. Uran turned herself around to look back at the human man.

"Hello." The girl sheepishly said before she started to get up. After she brushed herself off, Uran was finally able to see who was talking with the principal. Imagine her surprise and confusion when she saw that it was Professor O'Shay.

"I assume you overheard the general gist of why I asked your teacher to send you here?" her principal then asked as he went to sit at his desk.

"I'm a genetic freak?" Uran guessed with a blink.

"Cybernetic freak." Professor O'Shay corrected, not meaning any harm. Uran gave him a look that was anything but amused, which made the professor nervously adjust his collar and carefully choose his words for the next part of the conversation. "Miss Uran, how familiar are you about your… special condition?"

Uran gave Professor O'Shay a rather slow blink that gave him the impression that she thought he was dumber than a sack of bricks.

"I was told," Uran started, sounding a bit sarcastic and annoyed, "That when I was born, my body was unable to make calcium, like, at all, so by the time I was a month old half my body was in a cast because my bones had become so brittle. Then I had this big, experimental procedure done and somehow along the way a robotic skeleton was placed in my body and that it would grow with me and protect the still human organs I had. And some other things happened, but that's not what you're asking so I'm not getting that into it right now."

"Do you know who oversaw the procedure?" Profesor O'Shay inquired as he started to stand up. "Do you know who drew the initial plans for your unique skeletal frame?"

"No…" Uran slowly said with a shrug. "Should I care…?"

Professor O'Shay walked over to Uran and put a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Do you remember when you asked me if I thought the Kokoro Theory was nothing but a dream?" he asked her. Uran's face scrunched into a weird expression that detailed her confusion. O'Shay looked her directly in the eyes and held his hand on her tighter. "The Kokoro Theory is a puzzle that I've been trying to piece together for the past three years, and if you'll let me, I believe that your cybernetic origins to Tenma is exactly the piece I need to complete and affirm the theory. But… I need your consent first."

Uran backed away from Professor O'Shay as she continued to look at him with a look of confusion and a bit of fear.

"So… it's real. That android Tenma made of his dead son. It was a real… _thing_?" she asked.

"Would you like to meet him?" Professor O'Shay asked her without a second thought. "He's not activated yet, but if you hold the part of the Kokoro Theory that I believe you do, I may be able to make him fully functional. But, again, that's your choice."

Uran stared at the professor as if he had grown a second head, then she slowly started to careen backward into unconsciousness.


	6. Active: Soulless

It was against the law to have an android look so… human in Metro City- and unfortunately, they both knew this all too well. Uran looked over the android body with a sense of disgust and fear. As if there wasn't enough proof already that Tenma had gone insane…

"Doctor Tenma had originally named this android 'Tobio', similar in name to his son Tobias." Professor O'Shay told Uran, although she was barely listening, "A rather poetic way of differing between the two, if I must say so."

"Did you have all the original parts?" Uran inquired as she touched the android's skin in curiosity. It felt like real skin, but it was as a cold as a dead man.

"When I started working on Tobio's old frame, admittedly I only had about fifty-five percent of the original to work with." O'Shay told her. "Not a bad turn-out really, but if you have no idea what you're doing, it would not make much of a difference."

Uran gave an absent nod as she lightly touched the side of the android's face, then ran her hand down to the android's hand. Carefully, Uran peeled back each of his individual fingers and looked at the inside of his palm. She looked closer with a curious tilt of her head and found that his hand was as individual as her own- the android even had fingerprints unlike any other.

"As I worked more on Tobio, I found that Tenma had given him unique abilities that set him apart from any other mild-mannered bot." Professor O'Shay continued to say, although Uran wasn't even pretending to listen to him anymore, "Tobio was equipped with jet flight from all four limbs, high intensity lights that operated from his eyes, a very acute earing sensor, a multilingual tongue, and extreme determining deductive skills to determine one's true intent. But Tenma didn't stop at just the mundane, he built this little bot to work off of nearly 100,000 horsepower for strength and he hid an interesting weapon system that can attack any wrong-doer in any direction. The more I worked on repairing Tobio for a hint of Tenma's final mindset, the more I found that this robot is unlike any other; this robot had all these abilities _and_ Kokoro- a very complicated idea that could change the way we look at robots forever! If anything is proven by the end of this experiment, it would be that Tenma was a greater genius than what anyone ever realized. It's a shame it was only discovered on his last days on earth…"

"And that's where I come in, right?" Uran asked, turning to look at the professor. He nodded.

"That is, if you wish to have the scan done." He reminded. Uran looked from the professor then to android. Although she had been rather unaware of it, Uran had her hand firmly clasped in the android's hand.

A rather rude thought came to the back of her mind about the way Professor O'Shay was treating her. It was almost as if he was treating her like a robot. It annoyed her, and he had no reason to do so. Did she really have a choice, or was the professor giving her subliminal mind messages to make her do what he wanted.

 _It's because Tenma helped built you._

Shut up, I'm all natural.

 _Is that what you really feel in your bones? Are they even your bones, really?_

Shut up!

"I'll do it." Uran agreed. "Let's just get this over with."

Wasting no time, Professor O'Shay guided Uran to a small X-ray machine that would give a full body scan within a few minutes. After preparing her, O'Shay went to the control panel for the machine and, slowly, the X-ray machine moved its camera down Uran's body. As the X-ray camera moved lower from Uran's body, the information it already had went to a computer near the control panel that Professor O'Shay oversaw. O'Shay looked at the information with a hard eye, what he saw surprised him enough that he stopped the scan before it even reached a half-way mark.

"What happened?" Uran questioned, almost thinking for a moment that she had broken something without meaning to.

"Tenma was a genius, that's what happened." O'Shay told her. "Come here, I'll show you."

Complying and with precious little else to do, Uran made her way over to the computer where Professor O'Shay moved a bit so she could look at the screen too.

"Do you see this line of data here?" O'Shay asked as he pointed to a particular string of letters and numbers that made no sense to the teen.

"Yeah." She agreed.

"And do you see this piece over here?" the professor then asked, pointing to another string with similar letter and number arrangements to the first.

"They look kinda the same." Uran told him, not quite seeing the significance.

"That's because they are Uran!" Professor O'Shay declared with glee and he started to type something on the computer. "I believe that the insane find ways to keep their sanity, and their last strings are usually their most brilliant. Uran, your skeletal system was designed by the late Doctor Tenma to not only grow and function as a normal skeleton, but each individual bone is also used to mask and protect the greatest pieces of data in history!"

"And that is the…?" Uran slowly started to say, but almost didn't want to finish.

"The Kokoro Theory my dear! Every single, individual bone in your body contains the original Kokoro Theory in its entirety! It's amazing! It's astronomical! It's so brilliant that it could change the world!"

"So…" Uran started to say, "What happens to me now?"

"In a week or so, I'll design a special nanite," Professor O'Shay then told her, pulling up a blueprint for said nanite on the monitor. "The nanite will enter through your ear canal and attach itself for just long enough to extract the Kokoro Theory from your malleus bone, then it will leave with no side effect to yourself."

Professor O'Shay turned to look at Uran with a wide smile.

"Thank you Uran." He then said to her. "With your help, the world is about to change."

Uran looked at the professor and gave him a single blink.

 _But what if_ I _don't want that change professor?_

. . .

It was barely even a week when Uran was summoned again by the professor. The two went back to the lab that they worked in before and O'Shay immediately started to get the nanite ready to extract the Kokoro Theory from Uran's body. The procedure took only a few minutes- once again, when he had enough information, Professor O'Shay started to work on repairing the android once more. He kept going back and forth that eventually he commanded the nanite to come out of Uran's ear and let her remain sitting where she was while he started up the android's main functions.

At first, everything seemed to go smoothly. The power that the professor put into the robot could have nearly stopped their hearts in a nanosecond, but it went into the android's body without problems. Once the startup was completed, Professor O'Shay and Uran looked at the android on the examination table for signs of life. A minute passed, then five minutes, then another twenty minutes went by without anything happening. Professor O'Shay looked over the android's body, then slammed his fist into the examination table.

"Everything is operational!" O'Shay thundered. "Why didn't it work this time?!"

"Maybe… maybe something's still missing." Uran suggested. The professor turned to the girl and gave her an unreadable expression.

"What are you implying?" he asked her, almost demanding.

"Well," Uran started, "All his systems may be functioning and all, but maybe he's missing a soul."

"A… soul?" O'Shay questioned.

"Well… yeah." Uran agreed with a shrug. "Golems need a soul to do their master's bidding, by some folklore humans were given a soul from their god. Why couldn't Tobio be any different? Maybe when he was first activated Tenma gave him a part of his soul or something- or maybe another robot did it somehow, I dunno. And since you had to reconstruct almost half of Tobio's original body, maybe as a failsafe Tenma made sure Tobio's original soul 'died' or something. Now Tobio had a mostly new body, maybe he just needs a new soul too."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Professor O'Shay asked, giving her a quizzical look that boarded on fascination. Uran was silent for a moment as she looked at him, looked to the android, then back to the professor.

"Upload my brain into his."


	7. Active: Waking Dream

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Professor O'Shay cautiously asked as he placed several wires to Uran's temples. "I can't promise what will happen after we go through with it."

"Funny," Uran mused, "I don't remember you being this concerned when you put that nanite into my head."

"It was a different situation then." O'Shay told her as he placed a blood-pressure reading device around her wrist and on her finger. "The nanite was completely harmless, and all it did was read the information that your robotic skeleton gave off."

"It also could have screwed with the wiring too." Uran pointed out dryly. "As we speak my skeleton could be malfunctioning and will squish me back into an infantile skeletal frame. So either way, I could be the walking dead right now and we would never know."

Professor O'Shay gave Uran a wary look as he started up the machine that connected the girl to the android. She caught on to this expression, but ignored it.

"I come home to a hyperactive dog and a standard class N4N-B07." Uran then told the professor, who was still giving a look of uncertainty. "I have no idea where my mom is, and neither do you which is why you went to the next human adult in charge of my life; the principal."

Professor O'Shay still gave her an unsure look.

"No one will notice I'm even gone." Uran assured him. "I just have only one question for you, Professor O'Shay."

"And what would that be?" The professor asked, his hand running over the lever that would turn the machine on.

"How badly do you want to prove the Kokoro Theory?"

The professor tightened his grip on the lever as he slowly pulled it down. Satisfied with no answer that did give the answer she wanted, Uran closed her eyes as the world started to become darker, and darker, and darker…

Slowly, Uran started to see a dim light that seemingly appeared to get brighter as she walked (she thought she was walking, at least, she couldn't tell at the moment) toward it. She kept walking until the light started to show her a way through the invisible maze she seemed to be going through. It guided her along until she came to a large structure that looked a bit like a hexagon and was much taller than her.

Uran almost walked away from the structure, but then she saw something that caught her eye. Inside the structure something seemed to be moving, so she leaned in closer to get a better look at it. Something about the images she was slowly started to be able to see- they almost felt warm, like a memory you never wanted to forget. But… these weren't her memories… were they? Curious, Uran looked closer, even putting her hand (oh, her hand was there, maybe she had a full body after all) on the structure as she leaned to keep her balance. No, these memories were not hers, but they were still all so familiar. How could someone's memories be so familiar when you didn't even know who they belonged to?

Sensing something behind her, Uran turned around and saw that a wall had been placed behind her. The wall had not been there a few moments ago, and she could see through it enough to see that another structure had been placed on the other side. With a sharp realization, Uran recognized the pictures coming from the opposite structure contained her memories. Uran then looked at the wall and walked closer toward it. The wall had a bit of shimmer to it that she now noticed and was struck with a new curiosity; carefully, Uran started to move her hand toward the wall. Biting her lower lip, Uran made her hand move across the wall for a short distance before thrusting it through the wall- the result from a sudden buzz that come from her hand made Uran jump back from the wall. Uran looked at her hand, then looked back at the wall; before she could really think about it, Uran slowly started to force her hand through the wall once more, but this time she did it slowly.

She was only able to get a few of her fingers through the wall again before she had to pull them back out.

Intrigued, Uran looked around to find something else of interest. She looked at the structure that held her memories and turned back to the structure that held the memories of someone she had yet to meet. Although her mind was a bit diluted, Uran tried to think of why the two structures existed, and why (of all things) that a single wall separated them.

"Wow, you're actually pretty cute." A voice said. Uran whipped her head around to the wall. There stood a boy that did not look unlike the android Professor O'Shay was trying to bring to life. Uran walked over to the wall again and observed the boy with a wary glance.

"You…" she softly said, her voice barely even audible.

"Think of me as Kokoro." The boy told her with a smile. "Although, I guess the more accurate term would be 'brother', what do you think?"

"You're not…"

The boy gave Uran a wide smile as he placed his hand against the wall. Uran noticed this, and for a moment she found it odd. Almost without control, Uran placed her hand on top of his against the wall. She relaxed her fingers, letting them overlap with his- the boy saw this and looked up at her with a sense of fondness.

"Come over." Uran told him, beckoning him to come over to the side he clearly belonged in.

"I can't do that Uran." The boy told her. "The wall stops me every time. I'm driving poor Professor O'Shay insane, aren't I? If I make it through, I'll do something for him that makes up for it, what do you think?"

Uran only blinked.

"This wall…" she muttered as she looked at the barrier.

"Is the only thing that stops me from crossing over into the new world." The boy agreed. Uran looked back at him as an idea came to her. She let go of the boy's hand to take a step back.

"You trust me?" she asked.

"I have no reason not to." The boy replied. Uran nodded before throwing her arms around the boy's torso without warning. She held him so tight that when she quickly shifted her weight to behind her, he came tumbling down on top of her- breaking the wall as if it were glass and it fell to the ground (or whatever acted like the ground in this plane of existence) like fresh snowflakes. Unsure of what had happened, Uran still held onto the boy as if she was trying to stop him from leaving.

"You did it Uran." The boy then said to her, looking at the broken wall with a look of surprise. "You succeeded with the first part of the activation. Maybe a little too well…"

Uran gave the boy a look of confusion as he helped her up.

"What do you mean… the first part?" she questioned. The boy did not answer her at first, and instead led her to the structure that could view the memories (Toby's memories, she realized) of a kid she had never met before.

"Tobio was created by William to replace his son." The boy said as his fingers started to bend backwards and his palm split open to reveal a canon buster. "When the professor started to repair and rebuild Tobio's old frame, Toby's old memories became a block in the reawakening of a powerful android. Memories are powerful, but they can also prevent us from achieving something greater. To be reborn, we must die."

The boy raised the buster to the structure at full charge, and before Uran could stop him, he fired. The structure erupted into little pieces that scattered everywhere. Barely a second after that, without a warning, everything vanished and Uran found herself floating before the rest became undefined.


	8. Active: Mornin' Prof

Professor O'Shay had been unsure on which monitor to keep track of; should he track the android, or the human girl? It was in a silenced bitterness that the professor came to realize that Uran had been right (that girl sure did have an uncanny knack for seeing through him, didn't she?), what did he really care about most and why was he so determined to prove the Kokoro Theory?

A distinct beeping on one the monitors snapped the professor out of his thinking. O'Shay looked up and noticed that it was coming from the monitor connected to the android. Acting quickly, Professor O'Shay directed his attention to the computer and started to type in a command to see what was going on. The information poured out to him one bit after another, and soon they all drew to the same conclusion. Before Professor O'Shay could let out a statement of exclamation, the android started to groan with an after sleep grogginess as it started to sit up. Eyes wide with fear and a morbid curiosity, O'Shay turned to face the robot as it did the same to him.

The android gave the professor an inquisitive side look before the corner of its lips formed into a smile.

"Good afternoon Professor Ochanomizu O'Shay." The android greeted innocently.

"Astronomical…" the professor breathed, no other words coming to his lips besides the only one that he could think of.

"Astro…" the android then said before looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I kinda like the sound of that. Can it be my name?"

The professor said nothing as he walked closer to the android. His mind numb by the pure innocence of the android, all the professor could do to answer him was to give a nod of agreement. The android, now deemed Astro, beamed his young face with excellence and a sense of pride.

"Astronomical…" Professor O'Shay muttered again, this time at the side of Astro. Astro gave the professor another kind smile before he started to look around the laboratory with interest. Eventually, the little android's eyes fell upon the machine that Uran had been connected to.

"Who's she?" he inquired. Forgetting for a moment, Professor O'Shay turned to where Uran was contained and nearly jumped in the air.

"Uran!" the professor exclaimed before rushing over to her, "I forgot all about Uran!"

Astro looked on as O'Shay carefully and quickly unstrapped the human girl from the machine. The professor carefully placed the girl on the ground- a place that Astro felt she should not be on if she was unconscious.

"Bring her here." Astro suggested as he started to get off the examination table.

"No, you should stay-" the professor started to tell the android, but the bot knew better and was already making his way over to get the girl himself to place her on the examination table. Helpless, Professor O'Shay let Astro do what he needed- then Astro bit his lower lip as he looked at her.

"She's alive." Astro said, not to anyone in particular. "She's just… sleeping."

"What do you propose we do to wake her up?" O'Shay inquired, curious as to what the android's response would be. The professor himself was sure that Uran had fallen into a coma that no one could wake her from, so seeing if Astro had a solution was more of an experiment and observation than anything.

Like a concerned brother, Astro looked over Uran with a fairly worried expression as he brushed a bit of hair away from her face. Admittedly, he knew there wasn't much he could do for her, but something about her was so familiar. Had he met her before? Was she really his little sister or something? There had to have been something he could do for her- anything!

Astro's hand clenched before he realized that he even had control over such fine motor skills. Looking at his fingertips as if they were little specs of glitter in the air, Astro tested his ability to curl and bend his fingers before he looked back at Uran curiously. Slowly, Astro lowered his hand to place on her wrist; not even a nanosecond later, Uran sat up so quickly she nearly hit Astro's head as she let out a sharp gasp of air. Wildly, Uran looked around before she found that she was still in Professor O'Shay's laboratory. When her eyes finally landed on Astro, she only stared at him for a moment with a squint of skepticism.

"I died helping that bastard, didn't I?" she asked in a flat tone.

"Nu-uh." Astro told her with a shake of his head. "You're very much alive right now."

Uran looked at him distrustfully before turning her gaze toward the professor.

"Mornin' prof." Uran cheekily greeted with a smirk. Her response was a gruff nod and a less than amused grimace.


	9. Heroism: Time Marches On

Weeks passed by, then the weeks became months and eventually the memory of Uran drifted away from Astro's mind. Professor O'Shay had taken Astro in as his own and sought to teach the android all about human life. The little android was fascinated by it all and his hunger for knowledge never wavered by the day.

The professor had started to run multiple tests on Astro, to see how well he would do with other humans and to better understand the full extent of Astro's abilities. On the greater scheme of things, this meant that Professor O'Shay had to call in multiple other scientist, robotists, and doctors to make sure that Astro performed admirably; but they had to swear an oath of secrecy to keep the thought of a human-like android out of the public gossip circles.

It still didn't stop the rumors though.

Many have them proven to be benign, from the common (the Ministry of Science is making a human android) to the rather outrageous (Doctor Tenma had somehow risen from the grave to revive his last project that will enslave all of humanity). Professor O'Shay had taken special care to make sure that Astro knew nothing about these rumors- the android had an innocence about him that was unlike any other, and the professor wanted to preserve it for as long as possible. One's innocence should not be treated like an experiment when, in nature, it is truly an experience to those who can endure the pain.

However, Astro was built to experience such pain, along with a whole spectrum of other emotions. The professor understood that he was protecting Astro like a child that was never allowed to see the outdoors. One night, Professor O'Shay had laid in his bed as he thought of why he would do such a thing when Astro was more than capable of handling himself; he was afraid. O'Shay was afraid of what the world would think of the android- would they accept him as human? Would they disown him for being so human but internally mechanical?

"What are you thinking about Professor?" Astro asked one day as O'Shay drifted into his thoughts. The professor snapped back to the real world and turned to look at Astro with a sudden awareness.

"Oh, Astro, it's only you." Professor O'Shay sighed comfortably. The android boy did not look as relaxed.

"Where you expecting someone else Professor?" Astro inquired.

"No, no." the professor told the almost worried android with a shake of his head. "I was simply… reflecting. That's all."

"Reflecting on what, Professor?"

O'Shay gave Astro a certain look before going into a little chuckle.

"Pull up the news report Astro." O'Shay then instructed. "Let's see what mischief the world is getting into today."

"Yes Professor." Astro agreed as he called a holographic monitor from a projector connected to the ceiling. The monitor gave off a static response before the picture began to clear to show a redheaded female newscaster.

"Hello and welcome to the Metro City News Network." She greeted happily. "My name is Kero Midorikawa, and I'll be presenting your three-thirty news this afternoon."

"A Purifier Unit was known to have broken down today, causing quite a bit of damage through the outer sections of Metro City. The Purifier Unit in question, known as Trigger to his family, had been showing signs of being on the brink of a serious malfunction earlier this week after a regular checkup."

The footage of Kero switched to an earlier piece of footage that showed a different girl, this one had a darker completion and she looked rather worried. The lower ticker of the video feed addressed her as Yuna Kiyoma, one of the owners of the rouge Purifier Unit.

"Trigger had been talking about feeling more sluggish that usual, but I didn't think it would escalade to this!" the woman said, sounding nervous as well. "I wonder if it had something to do with the robotist my sister and I took him too; the one we usually choose was out of town but Trigger was feeling a bit off before that."

"Who did you take the Purifier Unit to if your typical repair physician was out?" Kero asked from offscreen.

"A certain Fink fellow; Jeremiah? No… Albert…? I can't remember what his first name was at the moment."

The footage then changed back to current time and to Kero's face.

"As we speak, the local police are looking into the situation." Kero concluded.

"A malfunctioning robot is none of the police's concern." Professor O'Shay muttered. "Something like that should have been reported to the Ministry of Science."

"How come?" Astro curiously prodded.

"The malfunctioning robot for one." O'Shay told him. "Although it isn't uncommon for a Purifier Unit to feel a bit run down after a certain length of time before a scheduled tuning, there was no reason for him to go completely maverick after that. Whoever that 'Fink' person was tampered with the Purifier Unit- a case that would be closer looked at with the Ministry than what the police can accomplish. We have certain technologies and records they don't have, you see."

Astro nodded, almost understanding. Their conversation was then put on old as a red ticker ran across the screen and Kero started to become prominent once more.

"We have just received word that former Ambassador, Carrietta Zoran has died just a mere hour ago in downtown Metro City. The youngest of any Ambassador our country has seen thus far, and the first female to ever take the position, Carrietta was found in Old Metro Park with no clear signs of being attacked. She has survived through her only daughter, Sarann Chiiko Zoran-Uran (currently thirteen years old), who will be temporarily looked after by the eccentric Shunsaku Ban until a permanent decision is made on her new dwellings. There has been no report yet on times for the former Ambassador's funeral."

"Tu-turn the report off Astro." Professor O'Shay whispered before turning away. Looking at the professor with a curious tilt of his head, Astro did was he was instructed.

"Did you know her personally, Professor?" Astro asked. To the android's surprise, the professor shook his head.

"Then why are you so upset sir?"

The android's response was a still silence that he did not like.

"What about Sarann?" Astro then asked, starting to feel a bit annoyed that he wasn't getting a direct answer. "What will happen to her now?"

Professor O'Shay shrugged. "Her father should still exist somewhere."

"But what if they can't find him?"

"Then… I suppose… she'd go a foster home."

"They can't do that!" Astro exclaimed. "She'd be taken from everyone she knows!"

The professor only shook his head, helpless. An emotion that Astro had never felt before started to take over his system- it made things horrible and twisted. This new emotion that ran through his circus made him repeat the same phrase over and over again in his mind; it is not fair, it wasn't fair, it _just_ _isn't_ fair!

Without any other warning, Astro left for his bedroom that Professor O'Shay had provided for him while the professor only looked at the android dully.

There was nothing he could do, nothing at all. So why did he feel so bad about it?


	10. Heroism: Fall Fest

Astro watched Professor O'Shay's neighbors intently as they set up the fronts of their houses with colorful lights and decorations. Many of the decorations consisted of skeletons with pale white bones, and several spider webs hung from the roof to a clever place on the banisters. Almost every house had a pumpkin of some sort on the porch steps or in forming a line to the front door. The pumpkins that sat by the fronts doors were usually the pumpkins that had a funny face carved into them; jack-o-lanterns, Astro recalled Professor O'Shay calling them.

"Professor, what did you say the children in Metro City will be participating in tonight?" Astro called out, due to Professor O'Shay being in a separate room.

"Halloween." The professor replied as he came into the room to spare the both of them from yelling back and forth. "It's a holiday that has a rather controversial history behind it, but it's generally associated with colorful costumes and boatloads of candy."

"Ms Green isn't giving out candy." Astro informed his caretaker with a scrunched nose.

"But do you see how she has albino pumpkins?" O'Shay pointed out. "The Halloween Regulation Board for Metro City states that if you do not plan on giving out candy then you should have at least one white, or albino, pumpkin somewhere clearly visible on your property."

"Ah…!" Astro understood with an affirmed nod. For awhile, the little android was content as he observed the neighbors some more. But a certain little idea creeped on him like a ghost…

"Professor," Astro then started to say, "Can I go trick-or-treating with the other kids?"

O'Shay took a heavy sigh in, conflicted on whether he should let the android boy out for a day or to keep sheltering him. Of all days, this could possibly be one of the better ones to let the naïve little machine converse with the humans that looked close in age with him. On the other hand, what if he to someone revealed that more than one part of him was inhuman? The very rumors that have spread and seeped through Metro City like a toxic ooze would easily become exaggerated firsthand accounts that made the public want to purge all robots within city limits. But Astro was so human… would anyone ever believe those accounts to begin with?

"The Metro City Secondary Public School is having a fall fest tonight." Astro suddenly said. "I could go in costume and no one would know, and if they asked where I came from I'd say that I'm from out of town and I'm being homeschooled. I'll wear a mask, and put on those red boots that almost go up to my knee, and I'll get those shorts I wear when we're doing performance checks at the Ministry. I'll even go by a different name! I'll be…! I'd be…!"

Professor O'Shay gave Astro a skeptical look while raising an eyebrow. "Astro, how long have you thought about this?"

"Just now." The android answered, almost amazed with himself for a moment.

The professor looked at the android as if he was analyzing him for any kind of mischief or thoughts of rebellion.

"Alright," O'Shay then started to say, almost in a disbelief. "You can go."

It took all it had in Astro to not blast through the roof and into the clouds with pure glee.

. . .

"Daddy Walrus, I don't want to go. Thinking about it is making me sick."

Dressed in a short red dress paired with white boy shorts, Uran looked as adorable as she was uncomfortable. Her caretaker for the moment was a shorter man for his age with a balding head and white moustache; depending on his mood, this gave him a passing resemblance to a walrus.

"Nonsense." Shunsaku Ban declared. "Now try these flats, I think they'd match your dress better than the pumps."

For a moment, Uran only stared at her caretaker in a sense of bewilderment.

"Really?" she asked with a tone of annoyance.

"What?" he asked, innocently enough. He put down the flats though, and got close enough to Uran to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Look kid," he said with a sigh, "I know it's only been a day or two since your mother passed, but you can't stay cooped up all the time; it's not healthy."

"You have yet to see me try." Uran spat. Shunsaku frowned.

"Let's make a deal." He then said, attempting to coax her, "We take one night to go out to the fall fest at the school and the rest of the year we can stay inside the house. Deal?"

Uran thought about it for a moment, before looking back up at Shunsaku with a broken little smile.

"Alright." She agreed with a nod. "As long as we bring Jump too. He's been out less than I have."

"Of course." Shunsake agreed firmly. "Whatever gets you out and going, even if it means that stupid dog."

. . .

The school's festival was better than what Astro had expected. Food stands were dotted in nearly every aisle, carnival games where clustered with each other three at a time, there was a stage where a live band played top Billboard songs from the 1980s and upwards along with a few songs that always seemed to play in the fall, there was a dunk tank that had a member of the human faculty of the secondary school hostage for certain intervals, there was apple bobbing, there were henna tattoos by a robotic painter, and there was-

"Hey get outta the way!"

"Watch what you're doing twinkle toes!"

"We're walking here!"

Astro turned around in confusion as three boys shoved passed him as they raced each other to one of the carnival games.

"H-hey!" Astro hollered to them, "Shoving people isn't nice!"

"Neither is standing in the middle of the road!" one of the boys shouted right back at him, leaving the other two boys to let out a laughter of agreement. Astro watched them for a moment before breaking into a run to follow where they were going. Even though they had a point, they had still been rather rude, so the android had a plan. Astro followed the boys and watched them as they attempted to win a prize from a ring toss game. With a small sliver of amusement to Astro, all three of the boys failed.

"This game's rigged, there's no way anyone can win this game." The bigger of the boys lamented.

"It's only because you suck at it." The darker complexioned of the three said to the bigger with a grin.

"You didn't do any better than he did!" the shortest of the three ratted to the darker one. The three boys gave each other hard looks before randomly bursting into a laugh; this was when Astro saw the opportunity to jump in.

"I can win this game." Astro boasted, just loud enough so the boys could hear him. The boys stopped laughing and looked at Astro. The android took this as a cue to continue; "I just have one question for you, which prize do you want when I win?"

The biggest of the boys stepped forward with a look of challenge on his face. "That white cat with the stupid pink bow on it." He said, pointing to the stuffed animal. "My sis Fitch loves that kind of junk."

"Alright." Astro agreed before giving a token to the robot in charge of the game in exchange for three rings. Holding all three rings in his hands, Astro calculated how each one was going to land before he tossed them all at the same time. To the amazement of the three boys, each one of Astro's rings hit the same target with an accuracy almost inhuman. They were still gawking as the robot in charge of the game handed Astro the stuffed cat and when Astro handed it to the bigger boy.

"Here you go." The little android said cheerfully enough. Carefully, the bigger boy took the stuffed toy and looked at Astro with a wary side glance.

"How did you-" the boy started to say, but was cut off by someone screaming in the distance. The boys turned their head from the direction of the noise and were shocked to see several of the robots in charge of the food stands and a few of the games were chasing people around.

"Let's get out of here!" the smallest of the boys declared as the three of them took off without another warning. Astro stood where he was. Something about this didn't seem right- why would a bunch of robots go around terrorizing humans all of a sudden?

Snapping him out of this thoughts, one of the robots had knocked down a tent that sat by a food stand and subsequently caught on fire. Within half a second, almost every stand was burning or falling apart and Astro simply stood where he was, horrified that he had promised Professor O'Shay that he wouldn't use his abilities.

"Jump!" a voice hollered not far from him through the sudden disaster. "Jump where are you?!"

 _Why was that person still here?_ Astro wondered _. Doesn't she know this place is about to fall to pieces?_

But then he heard a beam split near the voice and immediately Astro knew that it was going to fall on whoever was still there in the next second. Acting without thinking, Astro jumped high enough in the air for his rocket boots to activate and reached the person just as the beam was about to fall on her. The girl fainted in shock as Astro rolled the beam off his back as if it were nothing before looking closer at the girl he had just saved.

She had dark hair, she wore a short red dress, white boy short leggings, dark pink flats, and if Astro looked just right at her, her face almost looked…

A bark from a dog made Astro jump in surprise. The mutt was caramel colored with a brown spot on his left ear and another on his back. Astro looked at the dog, then at the girl.

"You're Jump, aren't you?" the android asked. The dog replied with an enthusiastic bark. Suddenly, the android had a fury he had never known before.

"Look at what you did you dumb dog!" Astro spat. "She was almost hurt badly because she was trying to find you!"

The dog whimpered to show that it did have some remorse for its actions. Heartbroken that he had been so harsh, Astro apologized.

"Look, I know you didn't mean it." He said. "But you can make up for it, alright? You can watch her until help comes. Okay?"

Jump yipped in reply, giving Astro the idea that it would. With a smile, Astro looked around them of the now utterly destroyed fall festival and his smile was quickly under shadowed with a frown. If he had helped, maybe if he could find the cause of what made the robots go crazy out of nowhere…

A new feeling that Astro couldn't shake came upon the android as he started to leave. Something had to be done. And maybe… just maybe, that something was him.


	11. Heroism: Do It For Them

No matter what Professor O'Shay could have said or done, Astro's mind had been made up.

"But who would you fight for?" the professor questioned, feeling a bit skeptical.

"Everyone!" Astro declared. "I'd help protect the humans, and defend the rights of the robots!"

"Astro…" Professor O'Shay started to say with a shake of his head, "I know it sounds easy now, but as robots blur the lines of what it means to be human, the world is going to pick a side. It is in your best interest if you do so as well; whatever your decide, it would be your choice."

"I want to help everyone!" Astro determinedly rebutted.

"You can't help everyone Astro, it's impossible."

"Says who?!"

Professor O'Shay gave Astro a slow blink. "There are currently over seven billion people on this earth right now," the professor started, "Every second someone is born, and someone dies. Right as we speak someone could be getting hit with a car, or perhaps won their first athletic match against the opposing team. You can't save them all Astro, it's physically impossible. And we're only talking about humans here. There a robots created every other second, slowly increasing past the seven billion humans out there. Robots are discarded, and tossed to the streets- some are living comfortably with their families and some simply linger. You have to choose which side you want to be on Astro. You can't win every battle by talking some ne'er-do-well down with kindness; what if they choose to fight back Astro? What are you going to do then? Would you still choose to play pacifist when your own life is at stake? Who would you be protecting if you can't protect yourself?"

The little android grew silent as he ran deep in thought.

"Do you understand now?" Professor O'Shay then said, quietly. "It would be imp-"

"No."

O'Shay looked at the android, almost as confused as he was angered that Astro had back talked.

"There is a way." Astro told the professor in a tone that nearly gave the old man chills. "You're just too blind to see it right now."

"Astro…"

The android backed up, his eyes giving out an emotion that the professor was almost surprised to see. Without any other warning, Astro blast through the roof and into the night sky. Ignoring the calls of the man that helped bring him to life, Astro flew through the night sky without a path to go on. Astro's mind was moving so rapidly that he almost couldn't think at all. Eventually, the android came to a tall skyscraper in town square and sat on the roof as he tried to recompile his thoughts.

Astro looked out to see the people down below as they went on with the rest of their nights as if nothing was wrong. A large monitor on a building opposite of the one Astro was on was giving the local news at the top of the hour, but whether or not the people could hear the newscast was up for debate. The people never stopped moving, out of the corner of his eye Astro could see or a robot or two helping a human out or walking a dog in the square. Watching them, Astro slowly let go of his anger as he observed them mingle and interact. Some of the humans were nice to the robots that worked among them, some others were not. But although some humans were rude to humans, some of the robots seemed to give out just as much respect to the opposing party. The robots, apparently, were more calculating in how they could annoy a human than simply acting on whim like the opposing team; watching them interact this way made Astro see how much alike they really were, even when they thought they were not the same.

"This just in!" the reporter on the news monitor declared, making Astro hone in on the report, "Cleanup of last night's failed Fall Festival for the Secondary School of Metro City was completed this afternoon. The only known casualty of the disaster was taken to the Metro Memorial Hospital and was soon identified as the daughter of the late Ambassador Zoran, Sarann Uran-Zoran."

Astro jumped a bit in surprise as the newscaster pulled up a picture of Sarann. She was familiar, but from _where_?

"Although no eye witness reports were known of how Sarann survived, there happens to be surviving footage of the incident." The newscaster continued before the feed changed to a badly recorded footage of a damaged security camera. Although fuzzy, it clearly detailed Astro as he held the beam from falling on Sarannn then letting it fall to the side when she was safe. Seeing himself on the feed made Astro well up with pride, knowing that he had been able to help her after all.

"Footage from earlier had also caught the apparent thief that started to catastrophe." The newscaster continued before the footage cut to a clearer feed than what was used for Astro's save as a man tampered several of the robots that went berserk several minutes later. "Although a clear view of the perpetrator's face can not be seen in the footage, the police suspect that it may have been the work of resident robotics expert and tamperer, Skunk. It has also been believed that Skunk is responsible for several other cases of robots going maverick earlier this month. If you or anyone else believe that they have seen Skunk, please let the local police office now- he may also go under the name Frederick Fink and conning several employers into tampering with their home robots. Please be on the lookout, and remember to stay safe during this uncertain time."

Astro looked at the picture of Skunk that the newscaster had brought up on the newsfeed and memorized it. This was how he was going to prove himself. This was how he was going to show Professor O'Shay that you could protect two different beings of life and help them understand that they can work together if they tried.

But first, there was something he needed to do at the Metro Memorial Hospital.

* * *

 _ **Hey! We interrupt this story to give a short author's note!**_

 **There will be NO updates November 3-8, 2015 because I have not completed any other chapters at the time! As soon as I figure out how to capture Skunk, updates should resume on November 10th (crime stories aren't exactly my cup of tea, honestly). In the meantime, I have a poll running on my page for a plot idea that may come up in the future and would like some early opinions on it. Thanks so much for reading this far and here's to another ten chapters!  
**


	12. Heroism: Interesting Stories

**Hey! We're back to uploading. At least, for this week... I'm still working on next week's updates (the computer I use isn't my own and I need to share). But at the end of this week, this story is going to have exactly 15 chapters to it! Not only that, but after this 'arc' and the one after it, I plan on having a filler or two before picking up the action again with the reintroduction of Pluto. For now though, on to the story!**

* * *

A heart monitor kept progress of the beat of Uran's heart as she still remained unconscious in the hospital. Shock was what they had said put into this state, and spare for several areas on her body that had been burnt, she was still doing rather well biologically. Jump had proven himself to be a very diligent pet, and stood by Uran's side even when the police had come and intended to make him separate from her. Now the faithful dog sat at the end of Uran's bed, with Mr. Ban coming in to take Jump for walks and to check on Uran herself.

Jump had been there when that little android came by with some flowers for Uran's bedside. The mutt had not expected to see him, but he gave his best respects in anticipation of good rewards for doing what he was told. The android kid didn't have any treats for him but he did praise Jump for being extremely diligent. What the little android didn't know (or had yet to appreciate) was how much Uran had done for Jump in his puppy years.

The android kid left without much to say, and Jump was able to get a good nap in before Mr. Ban decided to come in to take the dog for a walk not long after. It was a nice walk, the different colored leaves on the ground where fun to play in until Mr. Ban decided to ruin the fun and head back to the hospital. When they returned, they were surprised to discover that Uran had woken up. Of course, Jump had celebrated by jumping on top of Uran, who seemed confused about where she was.

"What… happened…?" Uran asked Mr. Ban with a side glance. The man gave a sheepish grin as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, it's an interesting story, really…" he chuckled nervously. "Depending on who you ask though, the… uh… details get even more interesting from there."

Uran looked at Mr. Ban before looking down at Jump and giving the dog a belly rub. With a smile, Uran then noticed some flowers that sat on the bedside table.

"Daddy Walrus, you didn't need to get me flowers!" Uran gushed as she reached over to get the display and look at it closer.

"I didn't buy those for you." Mr. Ban informed her as he got a bit closer to look at the flowers as well. "They were there before I came in to take Jump for a walk."

"Are you sure?" Uran questioned, looking closer on the wrapper that held the flower bundle together.

"Positive." Mr. Ban agreed. Uran gave her caretaker a side look before finding a card held to the bundle by a ribbon. Without a thought, Uran snapped the card off- nearly hitting Jump with her elbow in the process- and read the card.

 _Dear Sarann, I'm glad to know that I was able to save you in time and that you've been recovering rather well! I know we haven't met before, but I hope we'll have a chance to in the future (I might be able to go to school with you if I ask nicely!) and we can be friends. Anyway, please get better soon- A._

"Who…?" Uran asked, although the full question did not leave her lips. Mr. Ban took a closer look at the card and read it for himself.

"That was nice of Abercrombie." he told her, but Uran shook her head.

"Abercrombie isn't that nice." Uran informed him. "That, and I already know him. This person, whoever it is, acts like they've never met me before. And they… saved me from something?"

"You don't remember what happened at the Fall Fest?" Mr. Ban asked, giving a look of concern and surprise. "Jump snapped off his chain when all those robots went berserk and you went after him. 'Course, by that time nearly everything was on fire and one of the beams supporting a stand came undone. The police found you some time after- they say that a boy saved you from the brunt of the debris was a robot or something, while others say that it was a human. The camera they dug up was badly damaged and had a bad picture to it; it was impossible to tell who it was at all, really."

Uran grimaced as she looked over the card again. Whoever it was, they made the promise of meeting her sometime in the future, and she wasn't going to lie- Uran was almost looking forward to it.

. . .

There was just one, tiny little problem Astro had when it came to finding Skunk; he didn't know where to look. For the most part, the areas where the maverick robots kept malfunctioning could be tracked to an outer region in Metro City where the cost of basic robot repairs got a bit pricey. But the attack on the Secondary School was almost completely out of the blue, due to the school residing in the middle ring of the city. There was, however, an invisible line between the outer ring accounts and the school, giving off a better location of sorts for Skunk's hideout.

The pattern that Skunk had made from all the robot outbreaks came into line like the Big Dipper constellation; you had a large area where most of the outbreaks occurred, and then you had an outbreak all the way out where you wouldn't first expect it. But would it be right to assume that he would tamper with another bot in the outer ring, or was Skunk moving closer to the center of city to attack there?

Actually a bit annoyed that he had no lead to go on, Astro landed in an alleyway away from the eyes of someone who could find out that he wasn't as human as he looked. From there, the android started to walk alone through the alleyway and into the street. As the android walked along, the more he came aware of the amount of robots walking around and doing their duties. He became aware that almost none of them had a unique, human-like property to them like he did; although some seemed to have actual legs instead of a hovering gyro, some had two optic sensors rather than a single one that looked more like a telescope, and so on.

 _Am I really that different from the other robots?_ Astro wondered as he stared at one robot for a bit too long before nearly tripping over a curb.

"Are you alright honey?" a woman asked as she helped him back up. Sheepishly, Astro's face lit red around his cheeks as he nodded. The woman was a human, but she was being accompanied by a robot that looked a bit more humanoid than most of the other robots Astro had seen, although the robot still didn't look as human as he did.

"I'm fine." Astro admitted. "I was just looking for someone, and I got distracted by all the robots around here. I didn't think they all looked so… different."

To Astro's surprise, the woman laughed.

"The robots around here are all generic models honey." the woman told him after seeing his confused look. "Sure they might all look different at first, but they're really all the same. Spare for Tesla here, I built him myself."

"Really?" Astro inquired, now curious. As Astro looked the robot over, the robot did the same to him. It took roughly half a second before the robot gave a little ping noise, then turn to its owner to give her a little tap.

"Yes sweetie?" the woman asked, turning to her robot. "What is it?"

The robot gave a motion for the human to look down at a screen on the robot's upper torso. Astro's eyes grew wide with interest as a string of letters ran on the screen that spelled out a particular message Tesla wanted to send to his owner. Carefully, Astro was able to read the message;

 **NICOLA HE IS A ROBOT TOO**

For a moment, the human woman looked at her robotic companion then she looked at Astro. Another message then panned through Tesla's screen;

 **HE SEEKS FINK**

The woman gave Astro a funny look as she looked him over.

"What on earth do you want to do with Skunk?" she asked. "He's more dangerous than a nuclear war head when he wants to be."

"I- um… I wanted to…" Astro stuttered, the sudden idea that what he was doing was possibly more dangerous than what he had first anticipated.

"Do you want my strict opinion on Skunk, honey?" Nicola asked Astro with a raised eyebrow. "I think it's really coincidental that the old conveyor belt sushi place seems to be up and running again before the secondary school had its episode. I went to the same school with him, before he decided that tampering with robots illegally was more fun than helping them; all of us kids used to go to Sushi Train, the only conveyor belt sushi restaurant Metro City had, that was located not too far from here. It would make sense if he would make his operations there, it was his favorite place after all."

Astro looked up at Nicola to make sure she was serious. Without anyone having to tell him twice, Astro quickly headed toward the old sushi place after giving Nicola his thanks. The human woman and her robotic companion watched him as he headed down the road.

"A robot designed to be human…" Nicola mumbled, "What a… interesting creation. I wonder who built him."

A message panned through Tesla's screen once more;

 **WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HIM**

Nicola let out a sigh.

"I don't know." She admitted. "But whoever that robot kid is, I hope he keeps his identity a secret. If truth get out that there's a humanoid robot in Metro City taking down bad guys, I don't think they'll be able to handle it. At least… as long as they know that he fights on their side."


	13. Heroism: Skunk'd

Sushi Train had been a grand place back in its heyday. Recognized by most everyone, the main attraction (spare for the food itself) was the neon lit lights that bordered the building from roof to foundation that made the sushi joint appear more like a 1950's diner. Ten years of being abandoned did not give the poor restaurant any sympathy; most of the roof had caved in, none of the neon lights were in a single piece and littered the ground unceremoniously, the sign that used to stand tall no matter what was now snapped in two with the screen that displayed opening times flickered with a numb life that still lingered. Suffice to say, a fence had been erected around the property to keep someone from getting hurt as nature let the building simply fall away.

Astro walked up to the fence and looked around. It certainly didn't look like anyone had been there for a while. Without a second thought, Astro placed his hand on the fence to get a better look at the building but the fence shocked him, much to his surprise, and Astro leapt away from the fence. From there, that was when he noticed an electric ticker that had been placed on the fence to keep unwanted intruders out.

"Yeah, I have an advanced AI." Astro muttered to himself bitterly, his sarcasm reaching high levels of cynicism as well. "I'm so smart that I like getting zapped by electric fences. It's like licking a spark plug, humans call them lollipops I think."

After taunting himself, Astro performed a scan of the fence for any other obstruction. There didn't seem to be another other warning to keep him out if he could go over the fence, as long as it didn't touch the fence himself, theoretically he would be fine… Right? Astro shook his head, getting the thought out. The android then took a few steps back and got a running start before activating his rocket boosters to get himself over the fence unscathed. Gently, Astro's feet touched the ground again on the other side. Almost immediately thereafter, a pure pellet of energy nearly hit Astro by a fraction of a centimeter. Then another energy pellet tried to hit Astro, then another in the opposite direction. Immediately, Astro activated his rocket boosters to get out of the line of fire, but the automated weapon system had a lock on him, and the pellets soon came from every direction.

Quickly calculating another route, Astro found that the best way to get through the defense system was to simply run for it. Using his boosters when he could, Astro tried his best to dodge the pellets as they came after him. Astro made it through the front door of the shutdown joint almost as a pellet grazed across his back. After he shut the doors shut and tight as he could, Astro let out a sigh of relief as he ran a diagnostics check on himself. Apparently, he had been hit just a little around his ankle, but it didn't seem to distort or change anything about his walking pattern so Astro chose to believe that it was nothing more than a scratch. After this, Astro took a look at the abandoned serving area of Sushi Boat.

Much like the outside, the inside of the old conveyor belt sushi place used to be very grand; two separate conveyors were arranged like a horseshoe, the center of the horseshoe was where the drinks and condiments were held on a large pedestal that was decorated at the sides and on top to show what the menu was. There were counter seats on the outer parts of the horseshoe, each seat was decorated with a napkin and some silverware as if they were still waiting for costumers to come in like in the old days.

The interior made Astro feel upset at the state the old place was left in, but as his eyes drifted to the conveyor belt, he realized that was sat there weren't the typical plates used. On the conveyor belt were robot parts. Stolen robot parts.

Astro carefully got a closer look to analyze which robots the parts came from. In a few seconds, Astro became aware that the parts were al from the stolen robots reported to the Metro City police. The android then looked along the conveyor belt to confirm that all the parts displayed had been stolen from a robot somewhere in Metro City. Astro followed the serving side of the conveyor belt system that led into the once kitchen. There in the kitchen was where Astro found some of the missing robots, all shut down, and a few where cut and sliced in horrible positions in process of having their guts ripped out of them. Horrified, Astro's eyes widened as he took nearly frozen steps backward, accidently tripping a trap that covered over top of him and began to buzz with a deadly electrical current.

"Congratulations." a voice said from the shadows. "You're pretty impressive for being such a small robot. Didn't think you had it in you really- considering all the… other mishaps that have happened around here before…"

"Show yourself!" Astro demanded, trying to sound braver than what he actually was. Complying at his own time, a man with a round, boyish face stepped out from the dark corner of the deserted kitchen. A thick mop of brown, shaggy hair was hidden underneath a black trilby hat.

"Skunk!" Astro exclaimed when he recognized the man from his mugshot. The criminal tipped his hat.

"The one and only you stupid little ro-" Skunk started to boast before he had a good look at Astro. Skunk placed his hat back on his head and got closer to Astro and looked him over before saying, "Stupid little human."

Astro found himself giving Skunk a boastful scoff. "You can't tell the difference between a human kid and a robot?" Astro cheekily questioned.

"Not sure." Skunk told him, recoiling a bit with a certain sneer on his lips. "Because, you see kid, it's illegal for robots to look human in Metro City. Something about the citizens not enjoying the uncanny valley very much; almost outlawed Barbie dolls and the like before if I remember history right."

"And what would you do if I was a robot?" Astro challenged. Skunk raised an eyebrow.

"It's quite simple really." The criminal told the android patiently as he pulled out a small remote from his coat pocket. "I just press this little button here on my remote, and it causes the little cage you're in to give a certain little buzz that can neutralize any robot and drain their battery. If you're human, it wouldn't hurt (obviously) but if you were a robot…"

Suddenly, Astro's confidence and bravery completely ran in the opposite direction as Skunk's thumb lingered over the button.

"B-but what if it does hurt me, and I'm human?" Astro asked. Skunk simply laughed.

"Then you fail to understand that I've tested it on myself." He said in a dangerously charming tone. "And _I_ didn't feel a thing- ergo, if _you_ are human, it wouldn't hurt at all. Kapeesh?"

Doing all in his power not to let out a squeak of fear, Astro watched as Skunk pressed the button on the remote and almost immediately Astro went down in pain. A code imbedded in sound waves that the cage gave off rushed through every part in his body and slowly ate away at most of it to shut him down.

"Well lookie here." Skunk then said as he released his thumb from the button. "Looks like we got ourselves a little humanoid robot. I wonder, just how much they'll pay for you outside of this regrettable city…"

Astro groaned as he looked up at Skunk, giving an expression of pain and anger as the android went into emergency shut down.


	14. Heroism: One Little Detail

"I gave you an impressive range of weaponry Tobio." Doctor Tenma told the little android as they stood in a room built just for testing Tobio's abilities. "With your digibeam you can call a small, but very powerful, plasma laser that can cut through any material that may come in your way. I configured your entire left arm to act as a buster of sorts, should you need to go through something much tougher than what the digibeam can slice through."

"And the machine guns?" Tobio reminded, a little smile of humor traced on his lips. Mentioning one of the better hidden weapon systems Tobio had made Tenma flinch. Of all the weapons for Tobio to accidently discover in his new body, it just _had_ to be that one…

"Yes. The, ahem, machine guns. You know how to activate them already and where they are located." Tenma hastily reminded the android. "I'd like to remind you, however, that they were placed there so you may still attack the enemy- no matter if you are able to call your other weapons."

"Yes sir." Tobio agreed with a little chuckle, remembering what had happened when he discovered them. Tenma shot his robotic son a glance that was less than amused, a glance that Tobio understood that he needed to shut up for or else both of them would be going to bed miserable that night.

"Today for your training, we'll focus just on you digibeam. Alright?" Doctor Tenma instructed, attempting to change the subject.

"Yes sir." Tobio agreed, still amused by past events.

"Now then," Doctor Tenma then said, calling up a test dummy in the line of fire. "Using your digibeam, take out the criminal."

"How do I do that again?" Tobio asked. "I know I have to point at him, but then what do I do?"

Doctor Tenma walked over to Tobio and gingerly took hold of Tobio's hand and helped him point to the target.

"All you need to do," Tenma instructed softly, "Is wish. Wish so strongly for a little beam of light to hit the test dummy right in the chest. Wish strongly enough, and it will happen."

Tobio nodded and focused on the target, doing just as his father had told him to. Doctor Tenma could feel the energy Tobio was storing as the android concentrated.

"Now Tobio," Doctor Tenma shouted from anticipation, "Shoot the criminal!"

. . .

Astro woke up with a start, almost immediately after, he knew he had been strapped to an operating table.

"I have to admit kid, I'm pretty impressed with your inner workings." Skunk said, allowing himself to be placed in Astro's view. "But now I'm a bit conflicted; should I sell you to the robotists outside of Metro City in one piece, or in twenty thousand?"

"Why did you recharge me?!" Astro demanded. Skunk gave a little shrug as if it were nothing.

"I like a challenge." Skunk claimed. "Besides, what's a challenge when the opposing team isn't aware that they're about to lose?"

"What do you gain by doing this?" Astro then asked as his mind quickly calculated a way to get out. Without doing something to disable the straps that held him down, Astro was at Skunk's mercy for the time being. "Besides money, obviously."

"I told you kid, I like a challenge." The criminal reiterated. "Finding out what to do with you might be my greatest one yet. I'm thinking a good ten thousand for an ounce of data from you; what do you think?"

"There's gotta be some other reason why you're taking about those robots." Astro tried to argue, his calculations deciding that if he could just hit the control panel that sat a few feet away, then the straps would lose power and he could regain his to get away.

Skunk gave the android a little sneer before leaving for a moment to get a special screwdriver meant for dismantling higher-tech robots like Astro.

"Lemme tell you a story kid," Skunk said as he opened up a panel on Astro that held some of his data, "Here in Metro City, sure the bots 'round here aren't supposed to look like humans, but we still got the one thing most folks don't; the bots themselves. Metro City is pretty advanced, even by today's standards. But do they share that information with other countries or governments? Nope! 'Protected under copyright' most bot here are stated to be under, so what happens when some folks from outside our fair city wants a little android freak of their own?"

"They build one?" Astro asked, getting both annoyed and freaked out as Skunk started to pry at some of his inner parts. Skunk let out a guffaw of amusement.

"You're funny kid, but no; the folks out there only _wish_ they had the kind of technology we have here. If folks from the outside want to build a bot of their own, they come to me. I get them the parts they want in a sweet, timely manner; with a fee of course."

"What do they do with the parts they bought, or the robots they build?" Astro then asked, almost curious.

"Don't know, don't ask." Skunk claimed, giving the android boy a snide smirk. "But why would you care? Or do you want to find out first hand?"

"No, no!" Astro quickly said, his calculations indicating that if he used a certain power he had, he could take out the controls easily. But which one was it again…? "I was just thinking… What's that machine used for again? Do you use it to neutralize the robots you later scrap?"

Skunk raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at what Astro was now pointing at. He then turned back to look at Astro with a malicious grin.

"Good guess kid. How did you know?"

Now it was Astro's turn to smirk. "I guess I'm just really good at guessing stuff." The android grinned as a beam of light came from out of his finger. Realizing a moment too late where the beam was going, Skunk let out a noise that was so angered that it was almost inhuman. With the restraint system down, Astro activated his rocket boosters and succeeded in snapping the metal straps as if they were tissue paper. Once freed, Astro hovered above the operating table in a moment of triumph, Skunk glared at him with a certain smirk that could have made younger children cry.

"Do you honestly think that getting away from me is going to be that easy?!" Skunk laughed.

"No." Astro admitted with a simple blink. "So that's why I've decided to take you with me!"

Without another warning, Astro scooped up Skunk and burst through the ceiling with the criminal held tight enough to almost choke him.

 _This is it_ , Astro thought to himself- partially in glee and partially from a rush of energy he received from destroying the controls- _this is where I prove I can help humans and robots! I'm almost there, now all I need to do is take Skunk to jail!_

Not to ruin his fun or anything, but don't you think we should remind him that he's missing one tiny little detail first…?


	15. Heroism: Into the Doghouse

Astro flew as close as he could to the police station before setting him and Skunk down behind the building. Skunk gave the little android an amused smirk as he dug around for some string so he could tie the criminal's hands together so he wouldn't escape easily.

"So you know you're illegal?" Skunk mused as Astro tied his hands so tightly that his blood almost couldn't circulate. Astro only gave a nod for an answer before he grabbed Skunk by the arm to lead him inside the police station. Like a horse on reign, Skunk dutifully followed… with a bit of resistance for the fun of it. Regardless, the two made their way into the police station and Astro took Skunk right to the front desk where the secretary nearly fell over in surprise to see the criminal connected to a young boy.

"I'd like to report Frederick Fink, better known as Skunk, to be released into your custody." Astro told the secretary in a tone he hoped sounded authoritative enough. The secretary looked from Astro to Skunk to Astro again before pressing a button under her desk to call in the chief.

It didn't take long for the chief to come out from his office. The chief himself was a thin man, with a moustache that laid under his nose like a brush- he took a look at Skunk before taking a look at Astro.

" _You_ caught him?" the chief asked Astro doubtfully.

"The kid's a freaking powerhouse Tawashi." Skunk spoke up with a smirk. "Like, five hundred grand horsepower, if you know what I mean."

"Right." The chief answered shortly before turning his full attention to Astro. "Either way, I am Chief Inspector Tawashi. Thank you for your bravery citizen, and for bringing this dangerous criminal straight to our care."

"Of course Inspector Tawashi." Astro agreed with a wide grin. Giving the android a side look, Tawashi simply nodded his head as he started to take Skunk away. But the mad criminal had a plan, and before anyone could realize it, he swiped Tawashi's gun from his belt loop. Letting out a rather devious laughter, Skunk aimed the gun at a random civilian visiting the police station to get a glance at the 'Currently Wanted' board. Astro immediately saw the danger and as Skunk pulled the trigger, Astro rushed to the civilian to save him at just the right second before the bullet could even graze the side of his head.

"Are you alright?" Astro asked the civilian kindly, holding the man as if the android was giving him a hug. The civilian's face was completely drained of color as he looked from Astro to the floor, then back at Astro again.

"Y-you… you…!" the man stuttered, his white moustache quivering with awe and fear.

"Are you okay?" Astro asked again, almost afraid that he had hurt the man in some way from rushing over so quickly.

"You're… you're a… a robot?!" the man finally squeaked.

"Well of course I'm a-" Astro started to say, then caught himself midsentence. That was the moment when the little android realized that in order for him to save the citizen, he must have used his rocket boosters. And now, even though the civilian was alright, Astro still had the booster engaged and was now hovering a few inches off the ground.

"Drop Mr. Ban immediately android!" Inspector Tawashi then ordered after snatching his gun from Skunk, who in turn was letting off a satisfied little snicker to himself. Not wanting to start a fight, Astro gently landed on the ground again and let go of the man he had saved.

"Who built you android?!" Tawashi then shouted, making Astro flinch a little from his tone.

"Professor Ochanomizu O'Shay, sir," Astro revealed in a quiet, meek tone, "Head of the Ministry of Science."

. . .

Astro sat as still as possible as he waited for Professor O'Shay to reclaim him from the police and answer a few questions. The man Astro had saved earlier (Shunsaku Ban, by name) sat on a bench near the entrance; the human looked as pale as he did excited, giving Astro a certain look or two every now and again that made the android shrink a little with lowliness. A few minutes passed by on the large clock behind the receptionist desk before a short girl with dark brown hair came through the entrance. At her side was a dog that had its tail hidden underneath of him, illustrating to the world how upset his master was at the moment.

"Uran!" Shunsaku Ban exclaimed cheerfully when he saw the girl. The girl, on the other hand, was none too amused as she looked at the man as he stretched his arms out wide as if expecting a hug. Sheepishly, Shunsaku Ban put his arms down; the girl was still unhappy with him.

"What. The. Hell." The girl then said to the man, her voice toneless and her eyes only blinking once. Shunsaku Ban gave a nervous chuckle as he quickly tried to explain what had happened, but Uran's unchanging face scared him enough that he didn't finish completely.

"I came home _late_." Uran told Shunsaku, as if it were his fault for some reason. "Jump greets me at the door as if he hasn't been taken out yet. Fair enough, I figured, but there was a message on the home phone about something so I decided to check that first. And what do I hear Daddy Walrus? I hear a message from Chief Inspector Tawashi that you were almost shot by Skunk at the police station."

"Did he tell you the part where a human-like android saved me in the nick of time?" Shunsaku asked her, letting out another nervous chuckle. The girl was still not amused.

"Yes." She agreed simply, giving him another rather slow blink. Shunsaku let out another chuckle as Uran's mood did not improve. It was almost easy to tell that she was scaring him at this point…

"What did you do with him?!" someone declared as they flew through the entrance of the police station. "What did you do to Astro?"

Everyone that sat in the waiting room looked at the person that entered, Astro almost immediately stood up when he recognized that it was Professor O'Shay.

"Professor Ochanomizu O'Shay," Chief Inspector Tawashi said, coming out of almost nowhere to guide the professor to the interrogation rooms, "We have a few questions for you and your… robot."

Almost dumbfounded, Professor O'Shay gave Astro a wild look as the little android started to dutifully follow behind. Behind them, Shunsaku led Uran and her dog out the door, promising dinner at a fancy restaurant that night to make up for scaring her. Before closing a door that led to a separate hallway, Astro took a look behind him to steal another glance at Uran.

A little thought flew at the back of the android's mind before shrugging it off, and he shut the door behind him.


	16. Secrets: Just Like the Weather

"Hold still." Professor O'Shay instructed as he helped the android put on a rather large backpack.

A few days ago, after Astro had brought Skunk into custody and his nature of a robot was revealed to many different witnesses at the police station. After a rather heated discussion on how robots like Astro weren't allowed in Metro City, and just because O'Shay was in a position of power he was not above the law, Chief Inspector Tawashi and Professor O'Shay came to an impasse. The solution they had to the problem was still a problem, but it could delay it a bit; for now, Astro was to pretend to be a human child.

The first thing to do to pass the android off as human; school.

"We're going to be late." Astro told the professor anxiously as the old man went through his backpack to make sure he needed everything to get through his first day of school.

"No we won't." O'Shay assured as they started to head toward his car. They got in, got buckled, and were soon on their way.

"Remember Astro," Professor O'Shay reminded the android as he drove, "No flying, no weapons, just… simple."

"If you have that much distrust in me, why didn't you just disable them?" Astro wondered.

"As far as Tawashi is concerned, they are." O'Shay told him, almost in a smug tone. "Just don't…"

"Ruin it?" Astro finished, raising a curious eyebrow. Professor O'Shay nodded.

"We were lucky that Tawashi gave us this chance- rumors about what happened at the police station are going to rise eventually, but as long as you keep low, no one would know that it was you."

"But what if someone's in danger?" Astro inquired, the thought of something horrible happening nagging at the back of his mind. Professor O'Shay gave a heavy sigh that informed Astro of what his thoughts were on the subject. The little android sunk low in his seat in a shame he couldn't name as they went along with the rest of the car ride in silence.

When Professor O'Shay pulled the car by a curb at the front of the school, the only acknowledgment the android and the professor gave each other was a short nod before Astro left the car. Keeping his head down, Astro made his way into the school and to his locker.

Meanwhile, Uran drudged her way through the halls after coming from her locker. As she walked along, she went past three boys she knew well but did not acknowledge them.

"Yo Uran!" one of them called out. Now feeling obligated, Uran turned around and gave the boys a smile.

"Hey Abercrombie, Kennedy, Tamao." She greeted dimly, saying their names as if she were remembering who they were. The boys picked up on this, and had a sense of knowing why she was acting that way.

"You still feeling kind of down?" Kennedy asked. Uran looked up at her classmate to give him an unreadable face and a small shrug.

"I'm alive." she said. "Isn't that enough?"

The three boys gave her a wary look. The girl quickly picked up on this and shrugged it off.

"Look, you guys are sweet for caring and all, but I can't just stay cooped up in my house all day with Jump and say that I'm getting better."

"But Uran…" Tamao pipped up, "Ignoring us when we're trying to help isn't going to make you feel any better either."

Uran's face lost all emotion as it simply glared at the boys. Without another warning, the girl turned around and started to walk to class.

"Uran, wait!" the boys called out, but she ignored them- almost running into a new student in the process. The new kid jumped as Uran brushed past him as if he had realized something, he even turned around to look at her and almost call out her name before Abercrombie recognized him.

"Hey, aren't you that kid that we met at the fall fair a few weeks back?" Abercrombie asked the kid, who then turned around to face the boys. For a moment, the kid had to recollect his memories, but when he did recognize them, his face grew into a wide smile.

"Yeah, I am." He agreed. "Did your sister like the present?"

"Yeah." Abercrombie agreed. "She spent all night with it like it was the greatest thing in the world. Thanks."

"No problem." The kid told him, his smile growing even wider.

"We didn't catch you name though." Kennedy added. "I'm Kennedy. The big guy's Abercrombie, and the shorty's Tamao."

"I'm Astro." The kid told them without a second thought.

"Astro? That's a pretty odd name…" Tamao said. Immediately, the kid's face flushed red with embarrassment as he nervously scratched the back of his head.

"I-it is? I… I never noticed before, heh…."

"No biggie." Tamao then claimed, much to the kid's surprise. Before the kid could say anything else, the warning bell sounded, alerting the kids to get to their classrooms.

"Hey, where's your first class?" Kennedy asked, getting closer to Astro so he could read his schedule. After reading it once over, Kennedy turned to Astro with a proud smile. "You need to follow me Astro."

"Why?" Astro inquired, unsure of whether he actually wanted to know the answer or not.

"Because we're in the same first period class together, that's why!"

Without any other warning, Kennedy took hold of Astro's arm and started to run to their class.

. . .

Kennedy and Astro arrived in class a few moments before the teacher came in, and were able to find seats that sat next to each other. As Kennedy helped Astro turn on the tablet they needed that contained their textbook, Astro had something else on his mind while he observed Kennedy.

"Hey, Kennedy…" Astro started to say as Kennedy finished booting the tablet for him.

"Yep?"

"That girl that ran into me- isn't her name Sarann?"

Kennedy's face twisted into an odd expression before he realized who Astro was talking about. "Oh! You mean Uran?" Kennedy asked. "No one around here calls her Sarann, at least, not to her face."

"Why come?"

Kennedy sat back down at his desk before giving Astro a look of curiosity.

"Have you lived under a rock for the past ten years?" Kennedy inquired. "Everyone knows why Uran wants to be called Uran."

Astro let out a nervous chuckle before it dawned on Kennedy that he wasn't aware of Uran's preference.

"You must be out of town or something." Kennedy then said, giving Astro the cue that it wasn't such a big deal. "You see, Uran's mom was… odd for a while. Kept going from guy to guy, you see. There was one guy whose family once helped with the discovery of uranium, and Uran loved this dude more than her mother really did, so the guy set out to adopt her."

"What happened?" Astro asked, his eyes growing wide with fascination.

"From what I understood, the adoption went through, and she lived happily with him while her mom just ignored her." Kennedy then explained. "But… the guy was kind of old any way and he had some heart problems. He… he, uh… died a year or so later. Uran uses his last name to remember him by. Say what you want about her, but she's seen some stuff. Stuff most of us haven't dreamed or thought about before. It's… it's kind of horrible… for her…"

"Oh…" Astro mumbled, shrinking a little from the thought of what Uran had to have seen when she came home and saw her adoptive father had died.

"But she's still a pretty sweet girl!" Kennedy quickly said to cheer Astro up. "The guys and I joke and say that she's like the weather; you can try to predict her, but you can't quite get a hold on her either. Some kids say that she can talk to animals too, which is pretty awesome if you ask me. Don't know anyone else that can do that! Although most kids just say that to be mean, but Abercrombie, Tamao, and I think it would be pretty cool to do that."

Astro looked at Kennedy. "Do you guys protect her or something?" the android asked, genuinely curious. The question made Kennedy blush a light shade of red.

"We all have an admiration." The boy admitted sheepishly. "Everyone does, I think, really. She's just like… a little sister or something. You know?"

Although he didn't quite understand it, Astro gave a nod.

"Do you… do you know if she has any robotic implants?" Astro then asked. Kennedy gave Astro a bewildered look.

"What…?" he asked, sounding as confused as he looked. Astro sheepishly grinned as he scratched the back of his head.

"N-nothing." Astro stuttered. "It was a dumb question. Sorry…"

Before Kennedy could press on what Astro had meant, the teacher arrived to finally start the class.


	17. Secrets: Friends

For someone who had no idea what to expect in public school, Astro almost felt overwhelmed by the surge of senses he could feel by walking into the lunchroom. His artificial sensory system could smell the lunch special of the day (meatloaf slathered in TV dinner gravy), while every single student in the school was talking about something to someone that made it hard to just tune in to one conversation. Almost anxious, Astro looked around for someone almost familiar that he could try to sit by. Astro scanned the lunchroom until he was able to spot the top of Abercrombie's head, to which he reveled in noticing the familiar person and headed in that direction.

"Hey Astro!" Tamao greeted when he saw the android coming over. Not going to ignore the cue of acceptance, Astro made his way over to the table and sat down between Kennedy and Tamao.

"You not eating anything?" Abercrombie asked Astro before chomping down on his sandwich.

"No." Astro replied shortly. "I… I have a really weird metabolism. I don't need to eat a lot. It's… it's almost like I never eat, really."

"Lucky." Abercrombie mumbled before gulping his bit of sandwich.

"He's jealous 'cuz he comes from a family of giants, and he's got the honor of being the one with the giant weight." Tamao hissed into Astro's ear mischievously.

"I _heard_ that." Abercrombie grumbled as he took another bite.

"You were supposed to." Tamao cheekily grinned. The peeved face Abercrombie then made caused Tamao and Kennedy to laugh with good intention. Observing for a moment, Astro then started to join in the laughter. The boy's laughter died down eventually, and they ate their lunches in an almost silence, letting Astro just awkwardly sit there and try not to stare. Looking around the lunchroom, Astro began to realize that Uran wasn't in the room eating her lunch, a little confused, the android turned to Kennedy.

"Is this the only lunchroom in the school?" Astro asked.  
Kennedy nodded.

"Where does Uran eat lunch?" Astro inquired. Kennedy gave the android a funny look.

"You really like knowing about Uran, don't you?" the boy questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Are you trying to stalk her or something?"

"Cut the kid some slack Ken." Tamao butted in before sticking a grape in his mouth. "Maybe the kid's got a crush on her or something- when was the last time you touched Uran?"

Either from the way the phrase was presented, or from an idea gone the wrong way, Kennedy nearly choked on the cola he was drinking.

"Aren't you a little young to be thinking like that?" Astro asked, moving his head to the side a bit with a little bemused smirk.

"Shut up." Kennedy remarked, randomly finding a potato chip to toss at Astro's head. "New kids aren't allowed to judge."

"I wasn't judging." Astro insisted as he stared at the potato chip distastefully and flicked it off the table. "However, your denial isn't very assuring to wandering minds."

Tamao and Abercrombie tried to hold back their snickers as Kennedy gave Astro an unreadable look, giving the android a moment to realize that he had possibly stepped into something that could have ruined his new friendship.

"If you can give cold comebacks like that to your friends, I feel sorry for your enemies." Kennedy eventually said, much to Astro's surprise.

"Is… that a good thing?" Astro asked, unsure of whether to let out a nervous little laugh or not at the time.

"Dude," Kennedy smiled, "You're perfect."

For a moment, Astro checked to make sure that the human wasn't just messing around with him, but what Kennedy said was genuine and it made Astro smile in return.

. . .

The rest of the day went by without any other problems. Astro had proven to be in good hands with Abercrombie, Tamao, and Kennedy. In some ways, Astro forgot about why he was actively seeking Uran, but then he would get time to sit and think. That was when he remembered why he wanted to know more about her; when they had brushed against each other at the start of the school day, Astro had felt a tiny spark inside of Uran that was almost familiar. A sudden ping of result made Astro freeze in his spot- some how, in some way, a large part of Uran could be detected and traced back to him. A word etched on her bones made the author of the coding she had in her body was clear and hauntingly familiar: Tenma.

Apparently, no one else was aware that Uran wasn't all human. The more Astro thought about it, the more the idea seemed to burn inside of him and almost hurt his cognitive processes. How could a human be related to a robot? Why would a human have a robotic skeleton to begin with, and how did it get placed there if the human in question was still alive?

As Astro waited for Professor O'Shay to pick him up from school, his thoughts of Uran burned more than previous, and when they got home, Astro was going to ask the professor all of those questions. And, he hoped, he would get some answers as well.


	18. Secrets: Skinning Cats

**I am way beyond sorry that this chapter is coming up so late! Like I mentioned earlier, the computer I was using wasn't my own so it wasn't always in my possession long enough to write, but now I have my own computer again and it is fantastic! After I switch the files around from the hard drives (which isn't going the way I planned it, but it's getting done), I should be able to get back to this story easier (along with the three other fics I'm trying to work on, all for my Mega Man AU that's, like, my baby at this point). So -hopefully- updates should be on a more regular basis again after the switch.**

 **Also, if you have some free time, look up Landscape by Florence and the Machine- it's the song I listen to when I'm writing about Uran because I feel it fits her pretty well in this story. There's especially one line in the song that almost feels as if Astro is giving her encouragement, and it inspired a scene that will take place later in the story that I hope I'll be able to convey well enough for you guys.**

 **Any way, enough talking, on with the story!**

* * *

Astro wasn't able to ask the professor anything before dinner, but had given him plenty of time to think out what he was going to say. He waited until the perfect time to ask, hoping that if he asked at the right time, he would be able to get a direct answer with little shock.  
"How was your day today?" Professor O'Shay eventually asked after he had finished eating a rather hearty meal.  
"It went rather well." Astro told him with a smile as he took the professor's plate away to wash it. "I even made some friends too."  
"You... did?" O'Shay asked, almost sounding a bit surprised. Astro nodded in confirmation.  
"I even met a rather interesting girl." Astro then said, "Her name was Uran."  
It took a moment for the name to sink in, then Astro could feel something about Professor O'Shay change. The feeling the man gave off was... odd. It was almost like... remorse...?  
"Do you know her?" Astro asked, tilting his head to the side slightly with curiosity.  
"No." O'Shay said shortly, attempting to get up from the table. Instantly, Astro knew that the professor was going to ignore the question, which inspired the little android to press further.  
"What about Tenma?" Astro then asked. This time, Professor O'Shay froze. Naturally, Astro took this as a sign to continue, "I brushed against Uran by accident in the hallway, and there was something about her. Every bone in her body seemed to whisper it to me like a hypnotic spell- it said 'Tenma, Tenma, Tenma' over and over. Who was that?"  
At this point, O'Shay was barely moving. If Astro wasn't able to feel the human's heart race a million miles a minute, he would have assumed he had died standing up.  
"Professor O'Shay..." Astro then inquired carefully. "Why won't you tell me who Doctor Tenma is?"  
For a long time, the professor remained silent, acting as if silence was going to make Astro decide to change the subject. It didn't, and it almost started to make the little android burn with even more curiosity.  
"It's been a long day." O'Shay then decided, refusing to look Astro in the eye. "It's time for bed. Good night."  
Disappointed of how the conversation had derailed so quickly without even leaving the station, Astro gave O'Shay a curt little nod. "Good night professor," he said, his voice toneless and hinting at a bit of anger. With a nod, Professor O'Shay left the room and quickly as he could without saying anything else to the android.  
Well, if this is how it's going to be, then there's more than one way to skin a cat.

. . .

There was no love lost when Professor O'Shay dropped Astro off at school the next day wordlessly or without eye contact. Astro made his way up the front steps of the school and headed straight toward his first class. As he walked along, Astro took good note of the students that went by, hoping that Uran would be in the crowd somewhere so he could talk to her one on one. Unfortunately, he couldn't find her at all during the entire morning.  
Kennedy was quick to pick up on Astro's dismay.  
"Thinkin' about Uran?" Kennedy asked before their teacher came in. Astro looked at Kennedy with a shocked look.  
"How did you know?" Astro questioned, almost surprised.  
"You get this really funny look when you think of her." Kennedy told him. "Noticed it yesterday- what's she got against you that you think about her so often?"  
Astro thought carefully before answering, Kennedy's curious face did not help Astro decide on what to say. "I..." Astro slowly started to admit with Kennedy hanging on every word, "I think that she might be related to me."  
Kennedy gave Astro a blank look before giving a snort of disbelief.  
"Go ahead and try to tell her that." Kennedy snickered, "See how far it gets you to being smacked in the face."  
"I know it sounds ridiculously unlikely..." Astro admitted, scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "B-but I think I'm right, and it wouldn't hurt to ask..."  
"You think that," Kennedy laughed, "But you'll find quickly that Uran's bite is worse than her bark."  
The android boy said nothing further on the subject with Kennedy, or his other friends for that matter, knowing that eventually the conversation would not go in his favor. So, Astro waited out until lunch time to search for Uran again, knowing that she had to be in the mix somewhere, and he almost ended up missing her as she took her packed lunch and squeezed out a door that headed outside. Refusing to acknowledge any of his friends when they tried to wave him over to their table, Astro followed behind Uran as swiftly as he could out the door and down a path that led to the school's garden.  
Curious, Astro hid behind a bush as Uran sat down on a bench near a looming weeping willow tree. Slowly, Uran got out her lunch and started to munch on a rather sad looking turkey sandwich that had been slathered with gravy on top. Several minutes passed as Uran ate her sandwich in silence before a squirrel came up to her. The squirrel looked up at Uran with intent, as if it were expecting her to give it some of her food. Uran looked down at the squirrel and frowned.  
"I'm not giving you any of this." She told the squirrel sternly. "You beat me out of a cherry cobbler yesterday, you're not going to do the same today."  
The squirrel tilted its head to the side a bit before jumping up on the bench next to Uran.  
"You're getting fat." Uran then told the squirrel grimly. "I'm not giving you anything when the other students do that job for me. Just look at you- if you keep leaning on my lunch bag like that, it's going to cave in and everything's going to be squished."  
Hearing this, the squirrel backed up a little, but it did not leave the bench. Suddenly, in a rather moment of genius and stupidity for not realizing it earlier, Astro realized that she was actually communicating with the squirrel; a real conversation too, like the kind of conversation you'd have with a friend.  
"She can understand animals!" Astro said outloud, as if to cement how obvious it was to himself. He said it a bit too loud though, because the squirrel finally left Uran alone while Uran herself jumped a few centimeters in the air from surprise.  
"Get up and look me in the eye if you're going to spy on me!" Uran demanded, standing up to assert her authority. "Get up!"  
Feeling obligated and more than a little guilty, Astro did as he was told. From there, he stood awkwardly as Uran looked him over with displeasure.  
"H-hi Uran..." Astro slowly greeted, refusing to look up at her.  
"Hello," was the curt reply.  
"Can I... can I join you for lunch?" Astro then asked knowing how dumb the question seemed after saying it. Of course she wouldn't want to eat lunch with him after she caught him spying on her through some bushes. It would have been stupid, ridiculous even. In fact, Astro wouldn't have been surprised if she wouldn't even touch him with a ten foot pole if she had the chance. He highly doubted that he would even be able to ask her if-  
"Sure." Uran told him, replying so quickly that he had to rethink for a moment to make sure she had said what he had heard.  
"Are you sure?" Astro asked in a dumbfounded tone. Uran gave a stiff nod.  
"You can eat lunch with me." The girl affirmed. "As long as you stay in those bushes and face the school."


	19. Secrets: Pick Up

"Uran, can I-"

"No."

"How about if…"

"No."

"Do you even…?"

"No."

This was how the rest of the lunch period was spent between them. Astro sat next to the bushes that he had hid behind earlier and sat facing the school. Uran, meanwhile, ate her lunch in –mostly- silence as she sat on the school bench. Sure, she wasn't aware on whether or not Astro had been spying on her for a good reason, but he had invaded her privacy, and she wasn't going to let him get away with it either. So she made him sit in the dirt, facing away from her, getting the feeling of her wanting to kick him from behind.

"Hey Uran?" Astro started to say.

"No."

"What if I-"

"No."

"Come over to your house..."

"No."

"And I'll take you-"

"No."

"Somewhere no one else can get to."

His answer was greeted with silence. Astro waited patiently for her to answer, attempting to ignore the itching feeling of turning around to see what she was doing. Optimizing his hearing sensors, Astro attempted to detect what the human was doing without having to turn around to look at her. In a moment of near fear, he found that he couldn't hear her at all- not even the sound of her heartbeat.

"Where are you going to take me?" Uran then suddenly said next to his ear. With a yelp, Astro jumped in the air, accidentally engaging his rocket boots in the process, making him go a bit further in the air. Not for a moment did he even consider that Uran could have seen it happen, but if she did, she certainly didn't say anything about it.

"Well?" Uran asked again once Astro regained his composure. He looked up at her as he rubbed the back of his head as if he had hurt it after being surprised.

"The clouds." the android told her.

"What about the clouds?" she asked, giving him a wary side glance.

"I'll take you up to the clouds." he replied. "I'll take you high up to the clouds and it will make you feel small compared to the universe but it would make you excited too because you're doing something no one has the opportunity to do. You'd be flying without a plane. It could be really cool. You just… you just have to do one thing for me first."

"And what would that be?" Uran interrogated, her suspicions not being confirmed nor denied by how cryptic he was being.

Astro looked at Uran and felt slightly intimidated by her presence. There was just something about her -or maybe he was imagining it- that made you know that she demanded a certain level of respect, and if that respect wasn't met then your world was going to get ugly quickly.

"Do you trust me?" Astro asked her.

"Well, let's see..." Uran started, a tone in her voice indicating the need for Astro to flinch, "You were spying on me behind those bushes several minutes ago, I've been hearing stories that you've been asking some pretty weird questions about me, no one knows where you came from or why you get dropped off by Professor O'Shay who doesn't have any children or nephews, some times you act as if you've never experienced certain mundane activities before, and now you're asking me to put complete trust in you because of some… spark you felt when we brushed against each other in the hallway on your first day? I have more evidence to _NOT_ put my trust in you."

Understanding, Astro hung his head like a little puppy. "However..." Uran then added with a slow sigh, "I think I understand what you want to know, but I don't have all the answers. I can… I can tell you what I do know though, if it would make you stop following me and asking weird questions. Got it?"

Astro looked back up at Uran, almost directly acting like a little puppy in his confusion and excitement.

"I'll pick you up at sundown!" Astro declared as he sprang to his feet with a renewed vigor. Uran didn't say a thing, but it didn't break Astro's spirit as the school bell rang to end lunch period.

. . .

In some ways, Uran just simply hated her reflection. Not enough people compared her to her mother- compare her to the good things about the late Ambassador, that is.

Uran's mother was slender -the same kind of slender that made you wonder when the last time they ate a cookie was- and she had chocolate brown hair that brought attention to her near black eyes. Her eyes always seemed to shine, especially when something interested her or when she was extremely focused on a certain subject. Those eyes didn't shine as much during her last few years though. Or… at least not when Uran was looking at her, which wasn't that often to begin with.

She had once always remembered her mother's hair being held up with a loose bun. You could always tell what kind of day she was having by how much hair ended up clinging to her neck or down the side of her face. The last time Uran had saw her mother alive, her hair had been down- it had thinned out quite a bit and sat against her shoulders without much life to them. Unfortunately, the only version of her mother Uran could easily remember at any point of time was the sick version- not the Glamour model, ready-for-the-runway version that the rest of the world remembered. So, yes, it would be nice if someone could compare her to her mother for once in good reverence, because it meant that she carried on being drop dead gorgeous while ruling the world with a gentle, yet boastful certainty.

A soft tap on her window made Uran snap out of her thoughts. Actually a bit annoyed, Uran walked over to her window to see if a bird had ran into it again- instead, she was greeted face to face with Astro. For a moment, Uran warily looked at him before opening the window.

"Hi!" Astro greeted happily as if nothing were wrong. Uran's look did not waver. Slowly, Astro's bright face faded. "What's wrong?" he then asked.

"This house has two stories to it." Uran told him.

"Yeah, and it's really pretty too!" Astro agreed happily. Uran looked at him, then looked over the window to the ground.

"My bedroom is on the second floor." she then told him, pointing out the window and to the grass below them. "If you're trying to pass as a human kid, you're doing a pretty sucky job at it."

Confused for a moment, Astro looked down as well and was reminded that he had used his rocket boosters to hover at her window.

"Can I come in then?" the little android then asked.

"If only to save you from being seen by the neighbors." Uran agreed with a grim tone. Without being told twice, Astro carefully flew into Uran's room to place his feet on the ground. After checking to make sure his boosters were safely shut off, Astro took a look around her room.

"I really like how you decorated." Astro said, attempting to be nice. "It's very… simplistic."

Simplistic had been an understatement, Uran's room looked more like she was moving out than an actual cozy room that she had spent her whole life in.

"Get a good long look at it then, because in another month it's all going to be gone." Uran told him darkly. Astro turned to look at her with a frown. Then he noticed how much darker it had gotten outside before the corner of his lips formed into a smile.  
"Hey Uran..." Astro then said, sounding a bit teasing in tone.

"What?" the girl asked.

"Think fast!" Astro declared as he suddenly activated his rocket boosters again and flew toward her as fast as he could, scooping her up in one motion and sending them both out the window and into the night air. Astro flew high into the air before he let Uran adjust so she could get a view of the world now miles below them.

"Oh... my... god..." Uran whimpered when she realized how up they were. Astro let out a smile as he leaned backward, letting go of Uran in the process. Suffice to say, the human girl screamed.


	20. Filler: Skunk's One Call

**A special treat for the 20th chapter, a filler! A certain relationship has been an idea of mine for awhile, so now it's official. Enjoy!**

. . .

Meanwhile, at the Metro City police station…

"You get one call Skunk." Chief Inspector Tawashi told the criminal as he gave him a portable holophone. "It will be recorded, and can be used against you in court."

"Yeah, yeah. I know the drill." Skunk smirked as he activated the phone, which then started to automatically dial a number. Skunk looked up at Tawashi with a snide half smile that was almost deemed frightening.

"You remembered." He sarcastically declared. Tawashi only gave a small huff of disinterest and sat down to endure the phone call with the criminal. The phone rang a few times before it was answered on the other end, a figure on the holographic screen came into focus and distinguished itself as a human woman with dyed raspberry purple hair and oval shaped brown eyes. She looked less than pleased to see Skunk- not pleased at all.

"Hello darling." Skunk greeted with a smile. The woman still didn't looked pleased. Skunk took this as a cue to continue. "So… no bail this time then?"

"What the hell do you think?" the woman spat.

"I told him you wouldn't do it Nicola." Tawashi spoke up although the woman couldn't see him.

"Damn straight I'm not." the woman replied. "And don't you dare bat those boyish eyelashes at me and promise a bed tonight either. I am through with your gambles. Do you know that I've wasted more money trying to afford your bail than on groceries? It's ridiculous! And I'm not going to do it again!"

"Fine, no bail. I understand." Skunk said with a shrug and a playful smirk. "How about an update on the outside world? How's our child doing?"

Nicola's face turned into a horrendous shade of red so quickly, you would have thought she choked on something. "MY ROBOT IS NOT YOUR CHILD!" the woman thundered, her rage almost reaching out through the holographic phone. "The day that I find that I'm conceiving your genetic freak spawn, it will be the day that you a five seconds away from death and the one that's about to kill you will have no mercy on your life! Do you fucking hear me?!"

Skunk looked in her the eye from the holographic screen and laughed. "I hear pretty lady, I hear." he said to her with a handwave. Nicola's rage had reached such a high magnitude that her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull.

"Go fuck yourself!" Nicola declared as she severed the connection line with a furious quickness. With a satisfied smile, Skunk propped his feet up on the table as he casually leaned back on his hair.

"You heard the little lady," the criminal then said to Tawashi, "Get your checkbook out, my bail's coming in the next week at the least."  
"Right." the chief inspector carefully agreed, certain that Nicola had meant what she had said. Skunk, however, was sure that it was going to happen again. He knew how Nicola worked, they were high school sweethearts after all. It would only take some time, then he would be out again.

Just watch him.


	21. Secrets: Means to an End

Still plummeting to the ground, Uran screamed with such magnitude that someone's ears must have bled from hearing her. She screamed as she plummeted down to the earth, surely with enough force that she would break every single one of her metallic bones or something far worse than that. The closer the girl was to the ground, the louder her screams became. When Uran was only a few feet away from the ground below, she suddenly found that she had been scooped up again by Astro, who then started laughing as if her screams of terror had been one big joke.

"You thought that was funny?!" Uran screeched as the two flew away from where Uran almost crashed.

"Well… yeah!" Astro laughed with good nature. Uran was absolutely livid.

"You ugly little motherfu-"

"Hey Uran, do you want to do a loop-de-loop?"

"Hell no!"

"Fine. Your loss then..."

Uran wasn't pleased at all by her special ride, so Astro did eventually decide to let her down on top of a skyscraper that sat close to the center of the city. The unsatisfiable human girl let out a grumpy little 'humph' before sitting on the roof like an angry little brat- and in some ways, she was. Astro studied her for a moment or two before getting close to the end of the roof to look out at the world below. It was Uran's turn to study him now.

She could remember him, just a little bit. But it was… weird seeing him moving around as if he were a human too. It was the same feeling she had when she saw her mother laying in her casket, except… in reverse…? Back then, it had been the face of a living being now dead- but now it was the face of the dead now living. It was just so… weird…

"So," Uran then started to say as if nothing bothered her, "You've succeeded in kidnapping me from my own bedroom, almost killed me by 'accidentally' letting go of me while we were flying, and now you plan on pushing me over a skyscraper? Geez, if you only need harmless information out of me, then I feel bad for the people you don't like."

Astro looked over at Uran with a silly little smile on his face.

"Didn't I say I was sorry for dropping you?" he teased. Uran raised an eyebrow.

"No." she said to him in a flat tone.

Astro's face fell. "Oh… I… oh..."

With some sense of guilt now, Astro walked over to where Uran sat and carefully placed himself next to her. He sat far enough away that he wouldn't be touching her, but he was still close enough that they could have poked each other if one had felt like it. They only sat next to each other, staring up into the dark, dismal night sky. It was quite awhile before either of them spoke up.

"You know..." Uran slowly started to say, "The motto of Metro City is 'a means to an end'."

Astro looked up and over at Uran, but didn't say anything in fear that he would ruin her train of thought.

"In the beginning, this city was just a tiny town of refuge- a place where people from all over the world would come to recollect their thoughts before going back out again. It didn't matter where you were on life or what you had done, Metro City was there to help you through it all.

"No one is quite sure when or how robots started to work more around the city; perhaps it was something that was always going on but no one was aware of until much later when the robot populace exceeded the human one. It was when everyone became suddenly aware of the robots that the law about having robots that looked human or under a certain height. A mother lost her child when it was still pretty young, and her husband constructed a robot that looked almost exactly like their kid. When she saw what her husband had created, the woman freaked out to the point of suicide. Heartbroken over the loss of his son and his wife, the man went to the Ministry of Science and proposed a law to be sent all around the city that no robot, no matter how sophisticated his circuits were, to not closely resemble a human in any way or to be under four feet tall."

Uran then looked at Astro with an unreadable look.

"You're really screwed when they find out that you're not human." she then said to him. The android looked at her for a little bit before putting his head down in shame. He knew- he kept being reminded of it after all. But it was redundant, and sometimes he just wished people would stop talking about it.

"I didn't know Tenma personally." Uran then started to say. Astro jumped hearing Tenma's name out of her lips and looked at her. Uran didn't seem to acknowledge his sudden interest, but she continued any way. "But he created the skeleton that I have now. They used… nanites, I think, to place the skeleton around the original bones. There was this huge process that involved the nanites coming in through the bloodstream and then they melted in some way that enveloped the original bones. I don't know much more than that, really, I'm sure there's this big document about it somewhere. I didn't know that he also hid that theory of his in those nanites; I don't think Professor O'Shay did either..."

"Theory?" Astro asked. "What theory?"

"The Kokoro Theory," Uran told him, "Or, the Theory of the Robotic Heart. It was said to be Doctor Tenma's greatest idea in the development of robots and androids. His theory detailed a plan wherein a robot can be created to have the same emotional developments as humans. He believed that a robot could be able to be mad, or sad- maybe even fall in love. All you had to do was tell them to feel emotions- you could remind them that they had brains of their own, so they could experience their own feelings too. He even had the idea that, if a robot had strong enough emotions, then they could even earn a soul."

"He really believed that?" Astro asked. Uran gave a small affirming nod.

"Every part of it." Uran agreed. "He was determined, and heartbroken. That alone can inspire the impossible by itself."

"That theory's impossible." Astro decided. Uran looked at Astro with a raised eyebrow.

"You're here, aren't you?" she asked him simply enough. For a moment, Astro did not know what she was talking about until it hit him.

He had Kokoro.

Maybe that was why Professor O'Shay had been so quiet to Astro about his origins. Astro wasn't just designed to be a robot that looked just like a human, but he was also created to simulate the same emotions that humans could feel as well. Had the man that created the Kokoro Theory, Tenma, mean to give him this ability? What reason did he have to do that?

There were so many questions Astro now had that still haven't gone answered. His mind was now reeling with all the other questions that he now had- it almost made him feel dizzy.

"Uran..." he then softly asked, "Do you want to fly again?"

For a long time, the girl only looked at him.

"Are you going to drop me again?" she warily asked.

"Not unless you want me to." he promised, even crossing his heart to show that he meant it. "Android's honor."

Uran looked him over again before the corner of her lips formed into a smile.

"Okay." she finally agreed. "Let's ride."


	22. Secrets: Persuasion

"Are you ready?" Astro asked Uran after she had tightly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"As ready as I'll ever be." she decided.

"Alright then." he then told her before carefully taking off.

Up and up into the atmosphere they went, Astro choosing to take a slow ride this time as they grazed along the inky night sky. Uran choose to close her eyes and enjoy the ride with Astro taking her along as if they were on a slowed down roller coaster. It was enjoyable for the both of them as they soared through the air without a care in the world.

There was a point where Astro flew near a large river, getting close enough for Uran to skim her finger against the water. After she pulled her hand back in, Astro flew back up into the night sky with a flourish. They flew for several minutes afterwards, Astro and Uran making up a little dance as they flew around- there where parts where he's let her drop, but then pick her up again from behind. Then, he would throw her up into the air, then she would fall back onto his back. There was a sense of comfort from knowing that he would never intentionally try to drop her again.

The only thing that stopped them from flying for longer was the sun rising over the horizon. And school. They still kind of had school that day too.

Astro flew back to Uran's home a little before six o'clock when her alarm went off. He set her down back in her bedroom and walked away from her a bit so she could catch her breath.

"I never want to do that again." Uran told him sternly. Unable to contain it, Astro let out a laugh that rang throughout Uran's room like a little bell. Uran's face etched into a tiny smile as well, and ended up laughing with him.

"Man, I'm going to so exhausted today." Uran then remarked. "I wonder if I could get Daddy Walrus to let me sleep in."

"He'd let you do that?" Astro inquired as his eyes grew wide with wonder.

Uran gave an indifferent shrug. "Guilt can be a very convincing persuader." she replied. Astro's face arranged itself into a confused look that didn't quite understand her situation.

"I'll be at school." Uran then told him, reading off of his expression. "I'll see you later, alright?"

Astro nodded. "I'll see you later." he agreed before taking off out her window. Uran watched him as he flew away above the clouds before she turned around and started to shout at the top of her lungs;

"Daddy Walrus, I don't wanna go to school today!"

. . .

Astro carefully flew into the window of his own little room and took a look around as if it were the first time he noticed how it looked. His room didn't feel any more complete than what Uran's did- except, instead of being in the process of moving out, he was in the process of moving in. Most of the little baubles he had on his shelves were 'gifts' (for lack of a better word) from O'Shay, some cool science looking things that just happened to catch Astro's attention at the time.

"Where have you been?" a voice uttered beside the android. Almost jumping out of skin, Astro turned around to look at Professor O'Shay, who had waited beside the window for Astro to return.

"I just took a little fly around." the android told the professor truthfully.

"Civil twilight started at 6:04 AM." Professor O'Shay told Astro, a chilling tone in his voice did not make the android feel good about how this conversation was going to go. "Who saw you as you flew around? You know what will happen if someone catches you!"

"No one saw us!" Astro told the professor. The look on O'Shay's face changed color.

"Who… who was with you?" the professor then demanded, taking the android by the shoulders. For a moment, Astro was almost afraid to speak. Why was the professor being so abrasive about it? Couldn't Astro share his secret with at least one soul in the world?

"Who was it?!" Professor O'Shay demanded again.

"Uran!" Astro finally spit out. "I went to see Uran and ask her about Tenma because you wouldn't!"

"Uran…?"

Professor O'Shay took a step back. "Uran…? Uran told you about Tenma?"

"Not a lot, but she told me what she knew." Astro admitted. "She told me that Tenma developed and implemented a special skeletal system into her body when she was younger, and he placed a certain theory in the very nanites that protected her original skeleton."

Professor O'Shay looked a bit relieved, but his face did not regain its color.

"I have Kokoro, don't I?" Astro then inquired quietly. "And Tenma, he created it- didn't he? He created me."

"You have school." O'Shay told the android in a cold tone.

"After school. Then you will tell me, won't you?" Astro then wagered, annoyed that the professor was avoiding the topic again. "Because if you don't I'll… I'll run away! I'll make sure everyone knows that I'm a robot that answers the Kokoro Theory! I might die after that… but I'll make sure everyone knows that it was you that activated me, and then your reputation will be ruined!"

The eyes of the professor widened with a mixture of fear and surprise.

Astro was learning too fast- Professor O'Shay wasn't sure what Uran taught him, but whatever she did it was inspiring a broader range of emotions and manipulation that O'Shay didn't anticipate on. After capturing Skunk, Astro knew where his weapon systems were. What if he…?

"We'll talk after school." Professor O'Shay agreed, his voice cracking slightly. The little android raised an eyebrow; fear hadn't been his goal in trying to convince the professor, but it was working, so he wasn't going to test his luck.

"Thank you professor." Astro thanked with a smile. Professor O'Shay did not give a verbal answer back, but gave a stiff nod of confirmation.

. . .

If he was smart, he should have disabled the android right then and there.

Yes, that would have been good. He never intended for the android to become so… defiant. But, what else did he expect? Honestly?

Professor O'Shay rubbed the bridge of his nose in pain as he sat at his desk. Perhaps the Kokoro Theory was a bit too well thought out. Now he had to explain the horrendous past of Doctor Tenma to an innocent android that meant no real harm. Thinking about it made the professor's mind hurt even more, possibly bordering a migraine- what if the android couldn't take the news well? What if the android completely rejected the information simply because O'Shay hadn't given him more clues and attempted to shelter the little android?

Well… there was only one way to find out...


	23. Secrets: Harmful Misunderstandings

_Say nighty-night and kiss me; Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me_

 _While I'm alone, blue as can be; Dream a little dream of me…_

 _-Dream a little Dream of Me (as sung by "Mama" Cass Elliot)_

. . .

"Hey dad, lookit what I did!" ten year old Toby declared as he ran up to his working father with a test score in his hands. Tenma was working on something at his home desk and barely looked up to acknowledge his son.

"That's nice Tobias." Tenma said with a hand wave.

"You didn't even look..." Toby remarked. Tenma did not seem to hear him- an action that secretly made Toby a bit more bitter.

"If we can complete the adjustments before next Friday, we could go on with the demonstration by Saturday." Tenma said, not to Toby but to a handheld phone connected to his desk. "That should please the Ambassador to some degree...hopefully."

"Dad." Toby tried again, his voice beginning to sound annoyed.

"Not now Toby." came the reply with another hand wave. Giving up, Toby let an annoyed huff before storming out the door.

"Hey Dad, I got excellent marks on a class everyone else is failing." Toby said to himself bitterly as he walked up to his room. "I thought we could finally go to the aquarium to celebrate. Heh, I'll drive if you won't."

Then an idea hit the boy like a runaway freight train.

Toby bit his lower lip as he crunched the report into a tiny ball before darting toward the family garage. He tried to get his father's attention the normal way, but if it had to take a way that was inconvenient for the both of them, then so be it.

. . .

Astro would have never assumed that Professor O'Shay would be prone to drinking when stressed- but there sat the wine bottle on the kitchen table, waiting to be opened and downed before the end of the night.

"Deep down, William really did love his son." Professor O'Shay told the android as if it hurt it to do so. "But placing his work above his family was an awful habit that he was ashamed to admit to. Tobias was a curious boy who refused to take no as an answer, and in more than one instance, it almost placed him in serious harm..."

. . .

The car had been totaled; the body of the car had been crunched into an odd looking rectangle, the engine some how ended up in the back seat, a tire had gone missing with absolutely no trace of where it had gone, and Doctor Tenma's fury had reached to such a crescendo that he could see more red than technicolor.

"WHERE! IS! MY! SON!?" Tenma screamed at one of the robots in charge of the clean up. Innocently surprised at such fury, the robot then answered the man in a calm voice;

"Tobias Tenma -aged ten years, eight months, and eighteen days- was admitted into the Metro Memorial Hospital at approximately fourteen hundred hours, which occurred roughly fifteen minutes ago. Would you like directions to the hospital from here, sir?"

Tenma had already left before the robot was able to finish his sentence.

. . .

"Humans are fallible, it's just in their nature. Human fathers are possibly even more so for a variety of reasons; Tenma was no exception. But he wasn't heartless, remember that Astro, some times men forget that there are others lives to care for besides their own. It's part of the human psychology to blame others, and it has unfortunately become a pathway to coming to terms with our own guilt and frustrations. Human are incredible creatures Astro, able to destroy the very things we would fight for at a moment's notice..."

. . .

Tenma had opened the door so quickly and with so much force that a nurse that happened to be on the other side almost got sandwiched in between the door and the wall. The angered father marched into the hospital room with full intent to withdraw from his son everything he held dear in the material world before stopping to see what his son now looked like.

The boy sat on the hospital bed with a drug-laden expression from the pain medication they had proscribed to ease the pain he was in, a neck brace had been fitted onto him to keep his head in place and his spine straight, both of his legs had been outfitted with casts, a cut on his lower lip was swollen, and a rather large amount of gauze had been placed near the temple of his head down to the corner of his nose. When Tenma saw how roughed up Toby had made himself, the father's expression quietly changed as he realized that it could have been a lot worse than this.

"Toby..." Tenma breathed, almost unable to say anything else. Hearing his father's voice, Toby turned to his father and gave a lazy little smile. The poor child looked like a carved out pumpkin that had been sittting out long past fall.

"Hey Dad." the boy slurred with the same amount of cheerfulness that he would have had if they were sitting at the dining table.

"Hello… Toby..." Tenma said carefully, the idea of scolding the child for taking the company car and crashing it now suddenly becoming an embarrassing thing to do at the moment.

"He's been given a bit of hydrocodone-acetaminophen, almost enough to make him feel a bit lightheaded and drowsy." the nurse Tenma had almost run into told him. "Sweet thing was telling me about a robot named Titanium that looked almost like him as a baby. Then he starting something about a slightly deaf Cobalt and a depressed Uranium so I stopped listening."

"Th… thank you." Doctor Tenma said, looking over the nurse with a measure of skepticism before turning back to Toby.

"I aced my test Dad." Toby told him, the boy's smiling reaching a bit higher. For a moment, Tenma didn't even know how to start with his son's announcement. The things that kid would do to get attention…

"Well… if you hadn't crashed the car, we could have gone to the aquarium tomorrow."

If Toby was able to shrink a little on the hospital bed, he would have.

"But," Tenma then said, "We could go after you can be admitted- I'm sure the project we're working on can wait until then."

A small candle was placed into the sad little pumpkin's face, making him look better already.

. . .

"Doctor Tenma wasn't a bad man." Astro observed. "He just didn't have a right understanding on what was important."

"Yes." Professor O'Shay agreed with a stiff nod. "He's not the only one either. I… also owe you an apology Astro."

The android looked up, confused. The professor continued as he looked at the half emptied wine bottle in dismay.

"I've been treating you like an experiment. Tenma created you to be more than that- a protector, a son, a very good kid. Not… not an atom in a petri dish for examination. I've been thinking it over for some time, and I think it's time that I ease my reign on you. I understand that you should have friends, to go make mistakes, to be a… a kid for once."

Astro looked at the professor. Was he saying, what Astro thought he was saying?

"Astro… I want to adopt you." the old man then said, looking up at Astro for a reaction. "I might even… I'm thinking about adopting Uran too, I owe her more than a life and limb. After that, I might do something that could be of even greater use to you two- maybe I could give you something you both lack right now. I could give you both a… a family… What do you think?"

For a while, Astro was silent. "You mean… Uran and I… we would actually be siblings?" he finally asked. O'Shay nodded his head.

"I just have one question for you, however."

"What's that?"

"Do you remember anything about Toby? Do you have any of his old memories at all?"

The android had to think about it for a moment before he shook his head. The professor responded by pouring some wine into a shot glass, then downing it in one gulp before placing the cork back into the finish.


	24. Freedom: Hard Headed Humans

**Front Steps to the Ministry of Science, December 29th**

. . .

News broadcasters from all over the world were in attendance as Professor O'Shay prepared to make one of the biggest speeches of the decade. Astro and Uran sat behind the podium as the professor's legally adopted children. Shunsaku Ban sat a chair away from Uran as an honorary uncle. All of them were there on behalf of Professor O'Shay as moral support- the news he had to give was important, and knowing the controversial history behind it made the old man more nervous than he had ever been before.

"We will now begin the program..." an announcer proclaimed through the speaker system, which then slowly made the crowd quiet down. "Please give your attention to presiding Minister of Science, Professor Orchanomizu O'Shay who will present today a new ordinance to be observed throughout the city."

"Greetings Metro City!" Professor O'Shay said into the podium's microphone. "As a new year comes upon us, we also greet a new ordinance that could one day make our city far greater than what it has ever been before! Fair people of Metro City, I propose to you the Robot Right Ordinance Act- with this act in effect, robots all around our city will share the same rights we do as humans. At the start of the new year, robots will be able to earn the same pay we do at workplaces, attend school with our children, they will be able to express their own developed opinions and theories that could further boost our great city into an even higher ground of respect and developmental progress."

"Professor O'Shay!" a reporter from the crowd suddenly shouted, "Professor O'Shay over here!"

The professor squinted to see where the reporter was before acknowledging him. "Yes, you over there, do you have a question?"

The reporter stood up so the professor could see him better- the hat that the reporter was wearing bore the logo of the Channel 8 News Network. "Professor O'Shay, several of us on the press understand that you adopted the young Sarann Uran-Zoran on December twenty-fourth."

"I do not see what this has to do with the subject we are gathered to learn about today, sir." Professor O'Shay told the reporter sternly. A pit quickly formed in Uran's stomach that almost made her sick, Astro picked up on this quickly and carefully took hold of her hand for support.

 _It's going to be okay, we're going to get through this together. No one will break us apart, no one will tear you down- not with me here. Promise. What could they want with you any way?_

"I'm sure that you are aware that Sarann is not completely human." the reporter then announced. "For years many reporters have tried to decide how human Sarann really is… considering she has a robotic skeleton that takes up over twelve percent of her body at whole. Is this new ordinance put in place because of her more cybernetic pieces?"

"Never!" Professor O'Shay immediately shouted, unintentionally, as Shunsaku Ban and Astro did the same thing. Uran had a sudden feeling of wanting to cry.

"And what of the boy you adopted as well," the reporter went on to say, "The adoption paperwork claims that his name is Astro, but there are no record of such a boy at his age ever living in Metro City before. In fact, I believe that upon closer inspection, several members of this crowd could easily recognize him as the late Doctor William Tenma's son. Is he the same child, Professor O'Shay, despite the child would have been in his early twenties by now? Or is he something more? Is this child not a child at all Professor? Is this Astro the last creation of Doctor Tenma's that proved the Kokoro Theory? Well Professor, is this not a robot child that not only breaks many of our already recognized system, but also contains the very givens of being as human as we are?"

"How DARE you make such accusations toward these children!" Shunsaku Ban declared, pushing O'Shay out of the way from the podium, "Don't you see how _PETRIFIED_ they are!?"

"But it would make perfect sense." a female reporter spoke up as she stood up- a broach on her shirt made it known that she was reporting for the science channel. "Reports of a secret project from the Ministry of Science have been accumulating since October. Too many of these reports all confirm something very akin to the Kokoro Theory. Are you denying these facts in favor of this new ordinance?"

"The Ministry never confirmed any of the rumors." Professor O'Shay said into the podium's microphone after pushing Shunsaku Ban out of the way again.

"They weren't denied either." the reporter for Channel 8 pointed out. Several members of the audience started to agree with this new idea of thought- some folks were starting to demand more questions. Professor O'Shay wiped his forehead as a beads of sweat started to form from stress while he attempted to answer as many questions as he could, but it wasn't long before it became too overwhelming. The professor also had to try to hold Shunsaku from attacking several audience members in the name of Uran and Astro.

Astro only stared at the mutiny. Everyone kept telling him how screwed he would be when the world found out that he was a very human robot- but he never could have imagined that it would have been _this_ bad…

Beside him, Uran had gone into a state that was attempting not to freak out or cry while making a very upsetting whimpering sound. He looked over at her and instantly felt bad for her. What was going to happen to her if truth came out that she truly was more than just a human? Sure, some humans had robotic implants, but they weren't to the same degree as hers; normal implants don't contain the secrets to creating human robots.

Making a quick decision, Astro activated his rocket boosters and flew high above the scene, but still close enough so everyone could see him.

"I am a robot!" Astro shouted to everyone below, who all looked up at him. "I was created by Doctor Tenma after the death of his son Toby. He wanted me to be as human as possible- maybe even be a perfect copy. He gave me emotions, and right now, I don't _want_ them! All this anger, and fear, and… and stubbornness to accept something new- it hurts me to think that I can't be accepted too.

"I go to school, just like any other kid. I've been going to school since I brought in the robot tamperer Skunk in to the police, and I've made friends. _Real_ friends, only because they don't know that I'm a robot. And Uran… Uran is my sister. She helped bring me to life because of something Tenma did before he died- she couldn't have helped it because she didn't ask for it. I've never once wondered whether she wanted me or not, nor did I ever think that Professor O'Shay could have done something to her that would have hurt her to get me online. But… that doesn't matter! I wanted to help everyone- I wanted to protect everyone! Being here, as you all go around as if a nuclear bomb is going to explode, I don't know how I feel anymore. I… I almost feel more compelled to help everyone now, because it is obvious to me that you all need help. But I don't know where to start. How can I help a lot of people, when they don't even understand that maybe some robots can help them.

"I want to help..." Astro concluded. "But.. why…? Why won't you let me…? Why won't anyone listen long enough to realize that we can work together?!"

Finished, Astro slowly landed back on the stage with his head hung low. The world watched as the little android just stood there, and watched as a single tear fell down the side of his face to land right next to his red boots. It was then that the entire world realized that this little android, looking like a normal thirteen year old boy, was more human in that second than what they had been ten minutes prior.

It was in that moment that the fight for robotic freedom had just began.


	25. Freedom: The Last One

**[The following chapter is going to be really short, so I'm going to put a really long Author's Note here.]**

 **This is it, the last chapter! But does that mean I'm done? Nope, I've got more coming up!**

 **Remember how I said that I would go into a Pluto arc before ending this story? Well... I do want to get to Pluto, but I can't stand stories that are too long. The longest story I've ever written is 36 chapters long, (and I won't lie) I was so exhausted of writing it that it didn't come out to the quality that I wanted. Reading other stories that go on forever (say, fifty to a hundred chapters -and still going!- ranging to and over 3K words a pop [kudos to those who can do that, but I know I can't]) are also exhausting, and -to me- it seems that if a reader just starting to read the story wants to get into it, they might not be able to because of how long it is. So, it is out of personal limits and the hope of gaining new readers in the future that I end this origin story here. Besides, I'm writing for the fun of it, not trying to create the next best selling novel.  
**

 **But I'm not done with this AU yet.**

 **Next year, we're going to get into the good stuff. I've been looking into writing down some plots from the 1980 and 2003 series and add this AU's twists to them. (I started writing this AU for the reimagining of several episodes, like the 2003 episode, Micro Adventure- how Uran activated Astro was inspired by the inside of Zoran's electric brain.) And we'd have a lot to cover too; depression, acceptance, an unconventional revival of a certain scientist, and have I mentioned Pluto yet? Also, is there any episode in particular that you would like to see with this AU's twists to them? I can't guarantee that I'd get to them, but it would be interesting to see what you would like to read about!  
**

 **So now, without further ado, ending an arc between an odd couple, I give you the last chapter...**

. . .

Nicola waited outside of the police station with her arms crossed and her robotic companion Tesla at her side.

"I honestly thought you could do it this time Nicola." Tawashi said from behind her, bringing Skunk with him. The criminal smirked with a pleasurable glee at seeing his girlfriend.

"I thought I could do it too..." the woman replied, almost sounding as if she were going to cry. "That smug bastard has a very fuckable face."

"I missed you too." Skunk affectionately purred in her ear after Tawashi released him. Nicola made a conflicted face that detailed how much she really did love that idiot.

"Get in the damn car." Nicola told him, retracting a bit from him in an effort to resist setting up for a kiss. Skunk's only reply was a smirk as he did what he was told. Tawashi and Nicola watched as if they didn't trust that he would actually go willingly.

"Should I look forward to seeing you next month?" Inspector Tawashi asked Nicola. The woman looked up at him then shook her head.

"You'll be lucky if it isn't a week." she told him.

"Good luck." he told her, meaning it rather honestly. Nicola gave a stiff nod in confirmation and started to get into her car. Tawashi watched as the odd little couple left the police station's parking lot with their robot friend in the back.

Now, was it just Tawashi's eyes playing tricks on him, or did that woman look pregnant?


End file.
